07/20/20 07/20/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from m new york this is democracy now! >> i had a concussion. my legs went out from under me. it felt like i was going to die. i thought i saw death. later, i many years don't recall how i made it back across the bridge to the church. amy: john lewis, the civil rights icon and longtime congressman has died at the age of 80. we will hear lewis talk about

being beataten almost to death n selma alabama in 1965, as well as his role organizing the freedom rides, the march on washington, and his lifelong fight for voting rights. >> it is so important for people to understand to know the people , died forstruggled the right to participate. the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society. amy: john lewis died on friday on the same day as another civil rights legend, c.t. vivian. the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. once described vivian as the "greatest preacher to ever live." >> nonviolent direct action is something we have brought to america. has noent direct action

violence in it, right? ? it is t there to destroy, it is there to develop and b build. and thatat is what we e have ben trying to do. amy: today, c.t. vivivian and jn lewis in their own words. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, ththe quarante report. i'm amy goodmaman. a record number of confirmeded coronavirus cacases were recordd around the world saturday, with over one quarter of a million new cases reported -- a first, according to the world health organization. the largest t increases wewere d in the u.s., brazil, india, and sosouth africa.. total coconfirmed cases s now tp 14.5 million, with over 600,000 deaths. here in the united states, which has by far the most coconavirus infections and death c cases a onhe risisin at least 40 states. ththe situation n remains dirern

the south anand west of the country. kentucucky, louisianana, oregond south h carolina all set new single-day records forewew cases on sunday. florida, o one of the woworst-ht states, again repoed over 12,000 new cases sunday. in california, mayor garcetti said the city reopened too quickly and that new shelter at home orders are likely. in georgia, republican governor brian kemp is seeking an emergency injunction to restrain atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms from speaking to the press. kemp sued mayor bottoms last week in an effort to overturn her local mask ordinance. bottoms has contracted covid-19 herself. governor kemp's refusal to mandate mask wearing defefies a scientific consensus on the ,ffectiveness of mass coverings

top u.s. infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci has urged state and local leaders to be as forceful as possibible in getting their consnstituentsts o wear m masks. meanwhile, p president trump is reportedly trying to block billllions of dollars for tesesg and contact tracing as part of any upcoming corononavirus relif billll, as well as f funds for e centers fofor disease control,le pentagon, and state department. on friday, democratsts from thee house education and labor commitittee said the white house blocked d cdc director robert redfield from m testifyiying bee congress on the issue of schools reopening in thehe fall. speaking on "fox news sunday," trump again clclaimed the virus will disappepear and repepeatede false argument that surging cases were simply a reflection ofof increreased testing. this i is trump speaking to chrs wallace. pres. trump: we have embers and we do have flames. florida became more flame-like, but it will be under control. amy: during his s interview, trp

also called dr. fauci "a little bit of an alarmist" and refused to say whether he would accept the results of november's elecection if joe biden wins. john lewisis, the civil rights icon and longtimime congressmember, has died at the agage of 80. during the 1960's, lewis was arrested more than 40 times and was beaten almost to dea in selma, alabama. he helpeped found sncc, the student nonvioiolent coordinatag cocommittee, marched side by sie with dr. martitin luthther king, jr., helped organize the freedom rides, and spoke at the 1963 march on wasashington. lewis once said "do not get lost in the sea of despair. he hopeful, be optimistic post of our struggle is not the struggle of the day, week, month, it is the struggle of a lifetime. never be afraid to make voice and get in good trouble, necessary troublbl" john lewis had served in

congress since 1987. for the e rest of the broadcast, we will be broadcasting the words and interview with john lewis in this studio several years ago. john lewis died on friday, the same day as another civil rights legend, c.t. vivian, who passed away at the age of 95. the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. once described vivian as the "greatest preacher to ever live." he was a leading proponent of non-violent struggle, a close associate of dr. king, and a leader in the southern christian leadership conference. wewe will hear c.t. vivian in hs own words at the end of the broadcast. tensions continued to flare in portland, oregon, as outrage mounts over violent attacks by militarized federal officers on anti-racist protesters. the u.s. attorney for the oregon district on friday filed a lawsuit and called for an investigation into unidentified

federal officers who have been snatching protesters off the streets into unmarked vans and detaining them. oregon senatorors jeff merkley d ron wyden are also demanding a probe and for federal forces t o be removed from the streets. "the nation" is reporting customs and border protection was responsible for one such arrest that was filmed and went viral last week. an internal cbp memo reviewed by "the nation" says federal agents will be deployed indefinitely, in undisclosed locations. on saturday, a group of mothers formed what they called a "wall of moms" outside a federal courthouse to help shield protesters from federal officers. this is one ofof the protesting mothers. >> their actioions are terririf. -- - we need toocy stand up.. i am 60 years old. i probably should not be here in public, this is unacceptable. amy: the aclu is challenging the

trump administration in court for what it says are the unconstititutional actions of federal agents. a prosecutor announced friday he is dropping felony charges against scores of protesters who were arrested last week as they gathered at the kentucky attorney general's home demanding justice in the police killing of breonna taylor, a black louisville emergency medical technician who was shot by police in her own home in march. this comes as new information has emerged about breonna taylor's killing. dispatch logs from march 13 show her body lay on the ground for 20 minutes and received no medical attention after she was shot at over 20 times. her boyfriend, who was also in the apartment, said she coughed and struggled for her life for at least five minutes. one officer has been fired, but no charges h have been filed. in chicago, protesters are denouncing excessive police force after officers attacked a

teenage activist fridaday, durig a demonstration n in which peope attempted to topplple a statue f christopher columbus in grant park. an officer punched 18-year-old miracle boyd in the face, knocking out several teeth. boyd is a recent high school graduate and an organizer with the group good kids mad city. journalists also reported being mistreated by police officers, who used chemical sprays and batons on protesters. police said 12 people were arrested. in indiana, two white men who were caught on camera attacking a black man over july 4th weekend were charged friday with battery, intimidation, and other crimes. the men, sean purdy and jerry edward cox ii, were part of a group of five white men who pinned vauhxx booker to a tree, beat him, and threatened to lynch him. booker was able to escape their clutches after passersby intervened. booker revealed last week he tested positive for covid-19.

his lawyer said his attackers spat on him and yelled in his face. you can see our interview with vauhxx booker, human rights commissioner for monroe county, at democracynow.org. the pentagon has effectively banned the confederate flag on u.s. military bases. a memo issued by defense secretary mark esper friday does not mention confederate flags directly, but calls on the military to reject divisive symbols and lists the flags that are authorized. the memo did not address changing names of bases honoring confederate leaders. trump has threatened to veto the national defense authorization act if it removes confederate names from bases. on sunday, trump mocked the push to rename fort bragg saying "we are going to name it after the rev. al sharpton?" trump likened support for black lives matter to support for the confederate flag saying they were both issues of freedom of speech. the new pentagon pololicy also

means black lives matter and lgbtq flags are not allowed on -- are likely y no longer allowd on military bases. heavy floods and landslides from monsoon rains have displaced 4 million people in india's northeastern state of assam and in nepal, with close to 200 reported deaths and dozens of people missing.. this is a resident of assam. >> this flooding g comes every year. this y year itit is the biggest. the roads have been submerged. how will peoeople live? manyny people are e living on b. our houses have also been submerged. amy: the devastating floods are also destroying wildlifefe and their habitats. as much as 95% o of the kazirana national parark may bendnderwate anand over 100 a animals, inclug eight rare rhinos, have died i n the floods. turkish media is reporting rescue teams have pulled the bodieses of 59 refugees frfrom e

van in eastern turkey following a shipwreck in late june. the boat was carrying up to 60 people -- three times over its capacity limit. at least five suspects have been detained over the deaths. most of the refugees were believed to be from pakistan, afafghanistan,n, and iran. in honduras, three garifuna land defenders were kidnapped over the weekend in the coastal town of triunfo de la cruz. snider centeno, milton martinez, and suany alvarez were all taken from their homes by heavily armed man in what local leaders say is an attttack against the community by the government of honduran president juan orlando hernandez as afro-indigenous and indigenous people continue to fight against miningng and other extractive indusustries on sacrd lala. in more news from honduras, the prominent journalist david romero has died after reportedly contracting covid-19 in prison. he was serving a 10-year sentence over so-called slander and defamation charges for his reporting exposing government corruption and possible links between drug

traffickers and top military and government officials, including president hernandez. romero was the director of the media outlets radio globo and globo tv. back in the u.s.s., in michigana hearing in a family court is scheduled today in the case of a 15-year-old student who was sent to prison for not doing her homework. the girl, known simply as grace to protect her identity, has been in detention since mid-may after a judge ruled she violated probation by not completing her coursework online during the pandemic lockdown. students have rallied in support of the teen, who they say was targeted because she is black. the michigan supreme court has also said it will review grace's case. in new york, jamaal bowman was officially declared the winner of his congressional primary race against incumbent elliot engel friday, putting an end to the 16-term run of the powerful chair of the house foreign affairs committee.

bowman ran on a green new deal, medicare for all, and anti-racist platform. to see our interviews with jamaal bowman, go to democracynow.org. the son of a federal judge in new jersey has died after a gunman opened fire on their home in north brunswick sunday. judge esther salas was unharmed in the shooting that killed her 20 year son daniel and critically injured her husband. the gunman was reportedly wearing a fedex uniform when he approached judge salas'shome. last week, salas was assigned to a lawsuit brought by deutsche bank investors who accuse the bank of making false statements about its anti-money laundererig policies and failing to monitor high-risk customers, including convicted sexual predator jeffrey epstein who died last year. became the first latina on the district court of new jersey. supreme court justice e ruth bar announced friday she is

undergoing chemotherapyy treatments for a recurrence of her cancer. the cancer is in her liver. ginsburg previously survived pancreatic, colon, and lung cancer. ginsburg was hospitalized last week for chills and a fever but says it was unrelated to the cancer. in a statement, the 87-year-old justice said -- "i have often said i would remain a member of the court as long as i can do the job full steam. i remain fully able to do that." and in labor news, organizers for the strike for black lives expect tens of thousands to walk out of work today in over 25 cities in support of the nationwide uprising against racism and police brutality. oakland labor organizer and mcdonald's worker angely rodriguez lambert said -- "companies like mcdonald's cannot on the one hand tweet that 'black lives matter' and on the other pay us poverty wages and fail to provide sick days and adequate ppe."

workers from nursing homes, airports, fast food chains, farms,s, and a gig economymy are joining the nationwide day of action. and those are some of the headlines. this is democrcracy now!,, democracynowow.org, the quarante report. i'm amy goodman. the nation is mournining the los ofof civil rights icon and 17-tm democratic congressmember john lewis, whose legacy of freedom-fighting and justice-seeking stretched from the jim crow era to the black lives matter movement. lewis died friday at the age of 80. he was diagnosed in december with pancreatic cancer. john lewis was born in alabama to sharecroppers. he went on to become the youngest of the so-called big six who addressed the 1963 march on washington, and was ultimately elected in 1986 to be the congressional reprpresentate for his homeme state of georgiaa post he never left.

during the civil rights movement, lewis marched side-by-side with dr. martin luther king, served as chair of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, and helped organize the freedom rides. he was arrested more than 40 times protesting segregation. as a mentor to those who followed in his footsteps, lewis was known for encouraging them to "get in good trouble, necessary trouble." in an interview last month, lewis said the video of george floyd's death at the hands of minneapolis police was "so painful, it made me cry" and that he was inspired by how it had sparked a new movement to end to racial injustice. congress member lewis made his final public appearance in june at the street near the white house that is now named black lives matter plaza where the words "black lives matter" are painted in 35 foot yellow letters. former president barack obama said saturday that he hugged lewis at his inauguration in 2009 and "told him i was only there because of thehe sacririfs he madade."

meanwhile, president trump waited more than 14 hours to treat that he was "saddened" by lewis' death. flags have been lowered toto half-staff at the capitol and the white house, and in atlanta, where mayor keisha lance bottoms ordered the flags lowered to half-staff indefinitely. well, today we bring you an extended excerpt from my 2 2012 interview with congressmsmember john lewisis. he walked d into our studio aloe here in new york city after the release of his book "across that bridge: life lessons and a vision for change." i began by asking him about t te selma to montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man, when n he was almost beaten n to death by pole in what cacame to be called oody sunday. 1965, a group of us attempted to march from selma peoplegomery, alabama,

wanted to register to vote. one young afrirican-american man had been shot and killed a few journey --r in an a adjoining countyty called perry county -- ththis is in t the blk belt of alabama ---- the home county of mrs.s. martin luther king jr., the home couounty of mrmrs. ralph abernatathy, the he cocounty of mrmrs. andrew w you. and becaususe of what happened o him, we madede a decisioion to march. in selma, alabama, in 1965, only 2.1% of blacks of voting age wewere regtered to vote.e. the only p place you could attet to register was s to go down to the courthousese. you had to p pass a so-called liteteracy test. and they w would tell l people r and over again that they dididnt or couldn't pass the literacy test. on o one occasioion, a man w wad to count the number of bubbles on a bar of soap. on anotherer occasion, a man was asked to count the number of jellybeans in a jajar. there were african-american lawyers, doctors, teachers,

housewives, , college professors flunking this so-c-called litery tetest. and we had to o change thahat, e sought to marcrch. and we gotot to the totop of the bridge. we saw a s sea of blueue -- alaa state troopers -- and we continued to walk. we came within hearing distance of the state troopers. and a man identified himself and said, "i'm major john cloud of the alabama state troopers. this is an unlawful march. it will not be allowed to continue. i give you three minutes to disperse and return to your church." and one of the young people walking with me, leading the march, a man by the name of hosea williams, who was on the staff of dr. martin luther king jrjr., said, " "major, give us a momento o kneel and d pray." and the mamajor said, "troopers, advance!" and yoyou saw theseses putting on their gas masks. they came toward us, beating us with nightsticks and bullwhips, trampling us with horses.

i was hit in the head by a state trooper with a n nightstick.k. i had a concussion at the bridge. my legs went o out from ununder. i felt l like i was going to di. i thought i saw death. all these many years later, i don't recall how i made it back across that bridge to the church. but after i got back to the church, the church was full to capacity, more than 2000 0 peope on the outside tryining to get n to p protest wt had haeneded on the bridge. and someone asked me to say somemething to the audieience. and i stood up and said something likike, "i don't understand it, how president johnson can send t troops to vietnam but cannot send troops to selma, alabama, to protecect people whose only desire is to register to vote." ththe next thing i knew, i had been admitted to the local hospital in selma. amy: explain that momoment where you decided to move forward, because i don't think the history we learn records those small acts that are actually

gargantuan acts of bravery. talk about -- i mean, you saw the weapons the police arrayed against you. what propelled you forward, congressmember lewis? >> well, my mother, my father, my grandparents, my uncles and aunts, and people all around me had never registered to vote. i had been working all across the south. the state of mississippi had a black voting age population of more than 450,000, and only about 16,000 were registered to vote. on that day, we didn't have a choice. i think we had been tracked down by what i call the spirit of history, and we couldn't -- we couldn't turn back. we had to go forward. we became like trees planted by the rivers of water. we were angered.

and i thought we would die. i first thought we would be arrested and go to jail, but i thought it was a real possibility that some of us would die on that bridge that day, after the confrontation occurred. i thought it was the last protest for me. but somehow and some way, you have to keep going. you go to a hospital, you go to a doctor's office, you get mended, and you get up and try it again. amy: so what was the next act you engaged in? >> well, we continued to organize, continued to try to get people registered. we went to federal court, testified to get an injunction against governor george wallace and the alabama state troopers. and the federal court said that we had a right to march from selma to montgomery. president johnson spoke to the nation and condemned the

violence in selma, introduced the voting rights act. and that night, he made one of the most meaningful speeches that any american president had made in modern times on the whole question of civil rights and voting rights. he condemned the violence over and over again. and near the end of the speech, he said, "and we shall overcome. we shall overcome." we call it the "we shall overcome" speech. dr. martinng next to luther king, jr. as we listened to president johnson. i looked at dr. king. tears came down his face. he started crying. and we all cried a little when we heard the president saying, "we shall overcome." and dr. king said, "we will make it from selma to montgomery, and the voting rights act will be passed." two weeks later, more than 10,000 of us, people from all over america, started walking from selma to montgomery. and by the time we made it to montgomery five days later,

there were almost 30,000 black and white citizens -- protestant, catholic, jewish, men, women, young people. it's it was like a holy march. and the congress debated the act, passed it, and on august 6, 1965, president lyndon johnson signed it into law. y: we willll be back with my interview with 17 term congressmember john lewis in 30 secoconds. ♪ [music break] amy: "we shall notot be moved" y

mavis staples. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. we continue now to remember civil righghts icon and 17-term democraticic congressmember john lewis whwho died fridaday at the of fririy. he appeared on democracy now! in 2012 talking about the freedom rights. seatmate,9, 1961, my a white gentleman, we arrived at in greyhound bus station rock hill, south carolina. we got off the bus. amy: what were you doing there? >> we were testing the facilities -- the lunch counters, the waiting room, the restroom facility. during those days, the stations were marked "white waiting," "colored waiting," "white men," "colored men," "white women," "colored women."

and we were following a decision of the united states supreme court banning discrimination -- or segregation in intrastate travel. and when w we started tonterer e so-called white waiting room, we were attacked by a group of young white men, beaten and left in a pool of blood. the local poli officia c came upup a wanteteto know ether we want to press charge we said, "no, b belie inn peace. we believe in lovend nviolenc" yearlater --o be exa, 48 yearlater --r. wilsoand his son came to my office in washington and said, "mr. lewis, i'm one of the people that beat you. will you forgive me? i apologize."

his son had been encouraging his father to do this. his son started crying. mr. wilson started crying. he hugged me. his son hugged me. i hugged them both back. then all three of us stood there crying. that's what the movement was about, to be reconciled. amy: when we hear about voting rights today, we don't hear about these struggles that you and so many others that you led went through 50 years ago. >> that's why it is so important for people to understand, to know that people suffered, struggled. some people bled, and some died, for the right to participate. you know, the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool that we have in a democratic society. it's precious. it's almost sacred. we have to use it. if not, we will lose it.

amy: a few years after that, two years after you had your head slammed in and so many others were beaten in montgomery, was the 1963 march on washington. dr. king spoke and you also spoke. i want to go to a clip of that moment. >> to those who have said, "be patient and wait," we must say that we cannot be patient. we do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now. [applause] we arere tired. we are tired of being beat by policemen. we are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail o over and over again, and then you holler, "be patient." how long can we be patient?

we want our freedom, and we want it now. [applause] we do not want to go to jail, but we will go to jail if this is the price we must payayor love, brotherhood, and true peace. i appeal to all of you to get in this great revolution that is sweeping this nation. get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation, until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete. we must get in this revolution and complete the revolution, for in the delta of mississippi, in southwest georgia, in the black belt of alabama, in harlem, in chicago, detroit, philadelphia and all over this nation, the black masses are on the march for jobs and freedom. [applause]

they're talking about slow down and stop. we will not stop. all of the forces of eastland, barnett, wallace, and ththurmond will not stop this revolution. [applause] if we do not get meaningful legislation out of this congress, the time will come when we will not confine our march into washington. we will march through the south, through the streets of jackson, through the streets of danville, through the streets of cambridge, through the streets of birmingham. [applause] but we will march with the spirit of love and with the spirit of dignity that we have shown here today. by the forces of our demands, our determrmination and ourr

numbers, we shall splinter the segregated south into a thousand pieces, put them together in the image of god and democracy. we must say, "wake up, america! wake up!" for we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient. [applause] amy: that remarkable speech that you gave on august 28, 1963. you were the youngest speaker at the march on washington. you spoke before dr. king. >> i spoke number six. dr. king was the last speaker. he spoke number 10. that day, when a. philip randolph introduced me, and he said, "and i present to you, young john lewis, national chairman of the student nonviolent coordinating committee," i looked to my right, i saw many other young people sort of cheering me on. i looked to my left, and i saw

young people up in the trees trying to get a better view of the crowd. and i looked straight ahead, and i said to myself, "this is it. i must do my best." and that's what i tried to do. when i was working on the speech, i was reading a copy of "the new york times," and i saw a group of black women in southern africa carrying signs saying, "one man, one vote." so in my march on washington speech, i said, "'one man, one is the african cry. it is ours, too. it must be o our" and that became the rallying cry for many other young people in the student nonviolent coordinating committee. amy: and yet, you had to change that speech that you gave on that day. >> i was asked to change the speech. some people thought the speech was too radical, too militant. i thought it was a speech for the occasion. it represented the people that we were working with. some people didn't like the use of the word "revolution" or the use of the phrase "black masses." a. philip randolph came to my

rescue and said, "there's not anything wrong with the use of 'revolution.' i use it myself sometimes. there's not anything with 'black masses.'" so we kept that part in the speech. but near the end of the speech, i said something like, "if we do not see meaningful progress here today, the day may come when we will be forced to march through the south the way sherman did -- nonviolently." and people thought we couldn't make a reference to sherman, and so we deleted that. amy: i would like to play danny glover reading the excerpts of the speech that you did not get. >> to those who h have said be patitient anand wait, we m musty that 'patience' is a a dirty and nasty word. we cannot be patient. we do not want to be free gradually. we w want our freedom, andnd wet it now.

[applause] we cannot depend on any political party, foror both the demomocrats and the republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the declaration of independence.. we won't't stop now. all of the forces of eastland, barnett, w wallace and thurmondd won't stop the revolution. the time will come when we will not confine our marching to washington. we will march through the south, through the heart of dixie, the way sherman did. we shall pursue our own 'scorched earth' policy and burn jim crow to the ground! amy: john lewis, you also said a part that did not get included was "in gooood conscience, we cannot support the administration's civil rights bill, for it's too little, too late. there's not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality." >> i thought, and i believe,

that the proposed civil rights bill was not enough. president kennedy took the position that if a person had a sixth grade education, that person should be considered literate and should able to register to vote. those of us in the student nonviolent coordinating committee took the position that the only qualification for being able to register to vote in america should be that of age and residency, nothing more or anything less. we wanted a much stronger bill. but the whole idea of the march was not to support a particular piece of legislation. it was a march for jobs and freedom. it was a coalition of conscience to say to the congress and say to the president of the united states, "you must act." we didn't think that the proposed bill was commensurate to all of the suffering, to the

beatings, to the jailing, to the killing that had occurred in the south. amy: just before malcolm x was assassinated, john lewis met with him in africa, spent several days together. i asked john lewis where they met, what they talked about stop met malcolm in nairobi, kenya, at the new stanley hotel. he happened to be staying there -- we didn't know he was staying there -- and we were also staying there. we were on our way to zambia for their independence celebration. and we had an opportunity to talk and chat with him about what was going on in america. and i think at that time malcolm was seeking to find a way to identify with the southern civil rights movement.t. he wanted to be helpful, wanted to be supportive.

and as a matter ofof fact, he ce toto selma. he came e to selma, february the 14, 1965. and we were in jail, including dr. martin luther king, jr., and the local authority refused to let him come and meet with us. he spoke at the brown chapel ame church with h mrs. king toto a p of high schohool students.s. and seven n days later, , he was assassssinated. amy: o on february 2 21, 1965, e was gunnnned down. >> i will never foforget it, because february 21 is my birthday. and i was in a car on my way from southwest georgia. amy: you were 25 years old. >> 25. and i was going from southwest georgia through atlanta back to selma when we heard that he had been shot. i came to new york, attended the service for him.

amy: what is your assessment of the significance of malcolm x? >> i think malcolm played a major role in helping to educate, inform, and dramatize the need for mass movement. people read about him. many of the young people, black and white, read his story. many did not agree necessarily with his techniques or his tactic. but if malcolm had lived, i am convinced that he would have been part of the southern nonviolent wing of the civil rights movement. amy: and his relationship with dr. king? what did dr. king think? >> i remember malcolm being in the hotel before we even saw him

in kenya, the night of the march on washington -- the evening before the march on washington. he was at the hilton hotel in washington. now, he didn't like the way the march turned out, because he said it was like a picnic and that it was not strong enough. amy: and he wasn't invited to speak. >> he was not invited to speak. we -- i didn't have anything to do with that decision. amy: after the civil rights and the voting rights act were signed, dr. king increasingly started speaking out against the vietnam war -- his inner circle saying, "don't give that speech at riverside church," april 4, 1967, a year to the day before he was assassinated in memphis, the "why i oppose the war in vietnam" speech. "you've got the president of the united states behind you. you got him to sign the civil rights and voting rights act," they said to dr. king. "don't take him on in a war that is not ours." yet he defied them and said it is. were you a part of that circle? what position did you take, john lewis?

i supported the position of >> martin luther king, jr. as chair of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, during that time, we had already taken a position against the war in vietnam. so many of the young people in sncc, so many of the young people that we were working with all across the south were being drafted and going off to vietnam, so we came out against the war in january 1966. but i was there at riverside church on the night of april 4, 1967, when he spoke. and i think that speech is one of the greatest speeches. a lot of people speak about the march on washington. it was a wonderful speech. but the speech against the war

in vietnam, dr. king -- he said, "i'm not going to segregate my conscience. if i'm against violence at home, i'm against violence abroad." and he went on to say that america was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. he was -- he was a preacher. he was a prophet. amy: do you agree with him? >> i agree with him. amy: that the u.s. is the greatest purveyor of violence. >> we have more -- we spend hundreds and thousand, millions and billions of dollars on weaponry. we're supplying the world. we sell arms to everybody. dr. king was saying that we have to put an end to this madness. he was infnfluenced by gandhi, d gandhi said it's nonviolence or

nonexistence. dr. king went on to say, "we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish as fools." he was saying, in effect, that we have enough bombs and missiles and guns to destroy the planet. he said it then, and it's still true today. war is out today, the drone that president obama is conducting in pakistan and yemen and other places with the kill list that "the times" called it, that he personally keeps and names the people he puts on the list -- your thoughts? >> well, i think it's time for us to end, end the efforts in afghanistan. we cannot justify the killing of people that we don't see.

we don't know anything about them, or very little. war is not the answer. war is obsolete. it cannot be used as a tool of our foreign policy. it's barbaric. someplace, somehow, people must come to that point and say, "i ain't gonna stay the war no more." amy: have you talked to president obama about this? >> i have not had an opportunity. but i've spoken out on the floor of the house against the war in afghanistan, as i did against the war in iraq. amy: you vototed in -- three das after september 11, 202001, to give president bush the authority to retaliate in a vote that was 420 to 1. you have described it was one of your toughest votes. talk about how you decided to do that. >> i was very disturbed about what happened on 9/11. and when i look back on it, if i had to do it all over again, i would have voted with barbara lee.

it was raw courage on her part. so because of that, i don't vote for funding for war. i vote against preparation for the military. i will never again go down that road. amy: and what do you say to those who say, "then you're not supporting the military. you're not supporting the soldiers, the troops"? >> i support the soldiers. when i see young men in uniform, i say, "thank you for your service." and i tell them, "i want all of you to come home." i tell them to their faces. i see them in the airports. i see them in washington. i say, "it's time for you to come home." amy: how do you decide to goa from activistctiv, real streetfighting activist, yourself were not physically fighting but you are being bought by the police every step

of the way, to a congressmember? talk about the moment you made that decision and there you did. how old were you? >> i made the decision after the assassination of dr. -- dr. martin 13, junior and robert kennedy. i was with robert kennedy in indianapolis, indiana, on the evening of april 4, 1968, when i heard that dr. king had been shot. i didn't know his condition until robert kennedy spoke at a rally that i was having to organize a and said ththat dr. g had been assasassinated. amy: i w want to go to that clc. kennedy i i have some very : sad newsws for all of yoyou, i think sad d news for a all of or fellow citizizens and people who love peace all over ththe world. and that is that martin luluther king was shot and was killed tonight in memphis, tennessee.

amy: that was robert kennedy breaking the news to so many john lewis you are there. >> i cried, with so many other people. and i said to myself, "we still have bobby." i went back to atlanta, attended the funeral with robert kennedy and hundreds and thousands of others. after the funeral was over, i got back in the kennedy campaign, went to oregon and later to california. i campaigned for bobby kennedy with cesar chavez. it was a wonderful effort. we went all over los angeles, going into wealthy neighborhoods, knocking on doors, urging people to vote for bobby. and that evening the primary was over, bobby kennedy came up to me and said, "john, i'm going downstairs to make my victory statement.

why don't you remain?" i was in his suite with his sister, several other individuals, the brother of medgar evers. and we listened to bobby, and he said, "on to chicago." and moments, minutes later, it was announced that he had been shot. dropped to the floor and cried and cried. i just wanted to get out of l.a. i got on a flight the next morning, flew to atlanta, and i think i cried all the way from l.a. to atlanta. and i came back to new york for the funeral. and before the funeral, i stood the night before as an honor guard with reverend ralph abernathy. then i rode the funeral train. the family asked me to ride with

them from new york to washington. and someplace along the way, i felt that somehow, in some way, i had to try to pick up where dr. king and robert kennedy left off. these were my friends. these were my heroes. these were two young men that had inspired me. and some of my friends started encouraging me to get involved in electoral politics, do more than just register people, that i should run for office. and i made a decision years later to do it. your newhe end of book, write "just as god he made it easier for king and king made it easier for poland and poland for ireland and ireland for serbia, serbia made it easier for the arab spring, the arab spring made it easier for ."sconsin

talk about these connections. >> i believe there is something in human history -- i call it the spirit of history. it's like a spring, a stream, that continue to move. and individuals and forces come along that become symbols of what is good, what is right and what is fair. and that's why i wrote this little book, to say to people that you, too, can allow yourself to be used by the spirit of history. just find a way to get in the way. when i was growing up, my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents were always telling me, "don't get in trouble. don't get in the way." but i was inspired by martin luther king, jr. and rosa parks

and others to get in the way, to get in trouble -- good trouble, necessary trouble. and we all must find a way to have the courage to get in trouble, to do our part. every generation must find a a y to leave the planet, leave this little spaceship, earth, this little piece of real estate, a little better than we found it -- a little cleaner, a little greener, and a little more peaceful. i think that's our calling. we have a mission, a mandate, and a moral obligation to do justst that. amamy: congressmember john lewis speaking on democracy now! in 2012. he died on sunday the age of 80. to see the w whole intnterview,o back to democracynow.org.

whwhen we come b back, we look t c.t. vivian who also died on friday. ♪ [music break] in go "swiwing low, sweet chariot." the sameme day c congressmembern lelewis passssed away on fridaye lost another civil rights legend, reverend c.t. vivian, who has died at the age of 95. vivian was a leading proponent of non-violent struggle in the southern christian leadership conference, and a close friend to reverend dr. martin luther king, jr., who once described him as the " greatest preacher to ever live." in 2015, i spoke to reverend vivian outside the historic

brown chapel ame church in selma, alabama, on the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday in 1965. that day, he was punched in the face by dallas county sheriff jim clark on the courthouse steps in selma as he tried to escort a group of african americans inside to register to vote. the punch was so hard, the sheriff broke his own hand. reverend vivian started by talking about the power of nonviolence and the continued fight for voting rights. >> nonviolent direct action is something we have brought to america. has n not direct action violence in it, right? it is not there to destroy. it is there to develop and build. that is what we have been trying to do. at the core of that is an understanding of faithful life. amy: you think full voting rights have been achieved at this point? >> no. because e americaa want change t

quickly. if they had, they would have done it in 1776. there is nothing we have not done for this nation. we have died for it. but it has been overlooked what we have done for it. but we kept knowiwing the scscriptures. we kept living by faith. that it iserstanding something deeper than politics that m makes l life worth livin. amy: what gave yoyou the courage 50 years ago t to stand u up ate courthouse to make that walk? >> you can't keep anyone in the united states from voting. democracy is built on this. faith. andgrandmothers great-grandmothers taught us how to live, even when they could , as long as what society was concerned about. is they were telling us

as old as the universe itself. amy: can you tells about the violence against you? >> it is the u understanding of nonviolent direct action. that is the change. what we have to see beyond all things that martin king, right, was our leader. whwhat we have and what was givn to us from its very beginningsgs is an undnderstanding that we could d not win by killing. light doesn't come because of darkness, all right? we are here to change america and always have been. america sees it as they are changing us. but you see, when a christian church exists that does not want to accept anybody but white already deniedve

the faith. can you be a christian and a racist at the same time? and we refuse to be racist. tellst want to simply america what their faith is about. america talks about democracy, but they have kept us from votingng for years. and even when they give us the vote on paper, politically they turn around and take away the important part of what we fought for and what they said they were giving. is, we have to work together to save ourselves politically, save ourselves ourselvesy, and save physically. we're not going to be able to do to the faithisten

without the hate. atn a preacher has to stand the door and keep people out because of the color of their skin, something's wrong with their faith. amy: you stand in front of sheriff clark and get punched in the face? >> well, yes, but that is not why i was standing there. we are willing to be beaten for democracy. you must use democracy under the street. i was standing in front of him because we do not have to fear the opposition. and we are willing to die for the freedom they say they have, all right? like amy: and when he attacked you, especially for young people to understand your thoughts at the time, what went through your mind? him.e problem was i wasn't a problem. he was trying to get rid of us so that he could act as though

the problem was us. problem is never the person being beat. it is the person that doesn't have a recent to beat people and beats people, who hates people and have no reason for it, right? americae we done to that they should hate us so? we haven't done it to america. you can state 30 or 40 things are quickly about what american us.cracy has d done to and we were just trying to live for the faith. died in every war. every war, right? and yet anybody who came here 10 minutes later was accepted. amy: civil rights legend c.t. vivian. i interviewed him in 2015 in selma, alabama.

he died friday at the age of 95 was not his funeral is scheduled for thursday at providence baptist church in atlanta. out of respect for reverend vivian, the lewis family says they will wait till after services to announce our plans for congressmember lewis' memorial. to see

hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." we start this hour with the latest on the coronavirus. the race to create a vaccine is intensifying. more than 20 potential vaccines are being developed but one from oxford university appears to be leading the way. preliminary results of early stage trials were published in the british medical