Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change

by John Lewis

I have witnessed betrayal, corruption, bombing, lunacy, conspiracy, and even assassination—and I have still kept marching on.

President Obama was called a liar during a joint session of Congress at a State of the Union Address. It was probably the lowest point of decorum I have witnessed in more than twenty years in the Congress.

Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.

Every successful movement needs to have achievable goals to give the people involved some victories. That keeps them focused, keeps them going.

What Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It is not only poetic and beautiful, it also expresses a profound truth: “All the world’s a stage,” he says, “and all the men and women merely players.

Have you ever considered that the same power you activate in the midst of adversity can also be consciously utilized to bring forward the kind of change or transformation you would like to see in your own life?

Religious faith is a powerful connecting force for any group of people who are working toward social change.

Consider how you would feel if your life required you to face what you fear the most every day.

Once you find within you the true ability to define yourself according to the dictates of your conscience and your faith, you have come a long way down the path that can lead to social transformation.

if a person’s grandfather had not been eligible before the war, then he or she had to take a so-called “literacy test” in order to qualify to register to vote in federal elections.

Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

It is only through examining history that you become aware of where you stand within the continuum of change.

real leaders are not appointed. They emerge out of the masses of the people and rise to the forefront through the circumstances of their lives.

We are human beings, not shuffling or bent, but erect, proud, and standing tall.

we must concede that discomfort breeds dislike, dislike breeds disdain, disdain breeds contempt, and contempt breeds hate.

Each generation must do its part for freedom to ring.

The seven-year-old sister of Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Cleveland police while he was playing with a toy gun, was also shot

Without crafting and executing a well-thought-out action plan, long-term success becomes haphazard and hard to come by.

Some writers have dubbed the times we now live in as “the age of hate.”

And if we are brilliant, like a Bobby Kennedy, a Martin Luther King Jr., a Jim Lawson, or a Fannie Lou Hamer, then the intensity of our flame can light the path of freedom for others.