even today, people say the good period of sncc and the bad p eriod of sncc. the good is when sncc was believing in the american dream and whites were involved in it, and the bad period was when sncc did not feel that -- you know, the people who are making the decisions were ever going to be in their favor, and they needed to look to themselves to move the discussion. i think again, the movement, the whole discussion it was a peg leg bates, to expel, i don't think that's the word to say. i think the basic position of sncc, and jim articulated it best. he said the problem that we face is not in the black community, the problems we face are in the white community, about the way they feel about things. so we think that it is important that the whites who are organizers and sympathetic to us, should go to the white communities and begin to organize in those communities to create sympathetic relationships. the way got characterized was probably unfortunate. but i think that is what -- people who had been with sncc all this time, particularly the whites, felt that t

he saw himself and sncc in black lives matter, so he would see himself and sncc in this. and i think he would think that it's, we are in a moment. and parking lot hi, i mean -- partly, i mean, i it's a trifecta because, you know, we had the pandemic, then we had police killing, and we have a president who's making everything worse. and so, you know, here we are. but for all of that, i think it's uniting to allow, you know, a moment when there might really be some significant change. >> you know, i was going back through his writings about violence and riots, and it seems to me that he wasn't opposed to violence on so much principle grounds. he clearly believed that violence was problematic because he believed in the inherent dignity and worth of everyone. but when he talked about riots, it was usually about the trouble -- [inaudible] nature of police officer r police officers invading -- police officers invading -- [inaudible] but we do agree that, we do agree that he wasn't opposed to violence so much on principle as pragmatic grounds. does that make sense to you? >> jul

even today, people say be good priod of sncc and the bad eriod of sncc.good is when sncc believing in the american dream and whites were involved in it, and the bad period was when sncc did not feel that -- you know, the people who are making the decisions were ever going to be in their favor and they think the whole with peg leg debate think the bates, i jimc position of sncc, articulated it. he said, the problems we face are not in the black community, the problems we face are in the white community, but the way they think about things. so we think it is important for the whites who are organizers and sympathetic to us, should go to the white communities and begin to organize those communities to create sympathetic relationships. the way it got characterized was unfortunate, now, people who had been with sncc for a while, particularly whites, felt they had a home and getting into this new thing was difficult. some did a good job and found a southern student organizing committee. on, pegfight that went leg bates, where i guess i was i guess itaying, was,

sncc said no to that. sncc said, we are going to confront racism where it is, we are not going to negotiate with anybody. we're going to fight until we win this particular campaign. thirdly, sncc saw its role, or the sncc leadership saw their role as assisting local leaders rather than dominating a local campaign. again, a contrast for martin luther king. with marlin martin luther king, there is a local campaign going on and local leaders would ask him to come in. he and sncc will fly in, and they will take over the movement. they will make all of the decisions. the sncc people were just the opposite. they were very, very quiet. they didn't put themselves in front of the tv cameras. they said that our job is to help local leadership develop and to help local leadership achieve its goals. i'm going to give you one example of this. and it's actually -- it's a local example. tent city in fayette county, tennessee. you know, i told you i grew up in brownsville. fayette county, tennessee is the next county over

the sncc obviously was the youngest organization and so that really was, although sncc also was the oneguably the most important speech other than kings. that is why they went and did it. but they did not have a lot of pull given their use and he was wanting the march on washington. >> so heather goose says there's no person i admire more than julian and the time of this challenge what you think julian would think about the current black lives matter movement? about defending the police? and investing in the community. what you think he would call and us to do now? >> hi heather. we talked a little bit about black lives matter movement at the beginning of this. and i said julian was a big admirer, he would be very happy about much going on now. as far as the protests, upset about the state of vandalism and lawlessness. we hope to have that tempered now if not disappeared. i don't know, i doubt he would be in favor of abolition of the police. but he would be in favor of what seems to be meant by defendant. which really isn't taking all of their money away. all of this to be fleshed out i

sncc?> in some ways he was everybody's natural mentor. he was just a folder at a time it mattered. later he was only five years older but he had a maturity and an experience they all looked up to and he was brilliant in many ways. and sncc had photographers all of whom were trained in this record. that there is a written record and he really held it together and after ella baker the most important person. >> what do you think he would say about mitt romney from when he was running and marching to say black lives matter now? >> i think he would like it. why not? you need all the allies there is a lot of things he doesn't like about mitt romney. we have no common friends or enemies. and to be interested in racial justice. good for him. welcome. >> and to donate constituencies around these issues i think his disappointment with sncc after coming into power. >> we have a comment in one of the few friendly faces and there was little legislative success. >> that's nice. thank you. >> thank you fo

i had never heard the story of sncc. never heard the full breadth and depth of john lewis' story. why didn't tell me that i as a young person had so much power? >> he kept saying to me, congressman, you should write a comic book. and i said, oh, maybe. but he wouldn't give up. and i finally said, yes, if you do it with me. >> the first part of their graphic novel, called "march" came out in 2013. wearing an outfit just like the one he wore at the bridge in selma, lewis met his new fans at comic-con. the third book won a national book award in 2016, the first time a graphic novel had ever won. >> i remember going down to the public library trying to get library cards, and we were told that the library was for whites only and not for coloreds. and to come here and receive this award, this honor, it's too much [ applause ] thank you. >> in another sign of how much he and the nation had come, john lewis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the selma march with an african-american president, retracing those fateful steps over t

i had never heard the story of sncc.ever heard the full depth and breadth of john lewis' story. why didn't anybody tell me that i as a young person had so much power? >> he kept saying to me, "congressman, you should write a comic book." and i said, maybe, but they wouldn't give up. and i finally said, "yes, if you do it with me." >> reporter: the first part of their graphic novel called "march" came out in 2013. wearing an outfit just like the one he wore at the bridge in selma, lewis met his new fans at comic-con. the third book won a national book award in 2016. the first time a graphic novel had ever won. >> i remember going down to the public library, trying to get library cards, and we were told that the library was for whites only and not for coloreds. and to come here and receive this award, this honor with these -- it's too much. thank you. >> reporter: in another sign of how far he and the nation had come, john lewis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the selma march with an african-american president, retracin

car r mild coal -- carmichael wanted to be the chairman because he wanted to take sncc wasp of sncc,upposedly for stutudents. a dififferent i into didirection. it no longerer was students. -- students in those leadership positions. the idea of black power -- we do not haveve time to do thisis, bt let me give you a hint of what was happening. stokely and i were cellmates of the freedom rides in jackson, mississippi. we stayed up all night arguing with eacach other abouout nonviolence. stokely also felt that black people should continue toto take leadership o of the voter registration movement and ththat kind of thing. unfortunately,y, blacks who had been sububjugated to segregation anoppressionon for so many years had carveded out of themselves d their expererience to be .ubmissisive to white folk i am breaking itit down for you now. s students who were part ofs -- who were p part of sncc went to mississippi andnd tried to recruruit black peopleo register, they said, g get out f here witith that mess. whwhen white students went and told them they were going g to come picick them up an

i had never heard the story of sncc.depth and breadth of john lewis's story. why didn't anybody tell me that i, as a young person, had so much power? >> he kept saying to me, congressman, you should write a comic book. and i said, oh, maybe. but he wouldn't give up. and i finally said, yes, if you do it with me. >> the first part of their graphic novel, called march, came out in 2013. wearing an outfit just like the one he wore at the bridge in selma, lewis met his new fans at comic-con. the third book won a national book award in 2016. the first time a graphic novel had ever won. >> i remembered going down to the public library, trying to get library cards. and we were told that the libraries were whites only and not for coloreds. and to come here, receive this award, this honor for this is too much. thank you. >> in another sign of how far he and the nation had come, john lewis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the selma march with an african-american president. retracing those fateful steps over the edmund pettus bri

he saw himself in sncc and black lives matter so he waited see himself and sncc in the spirit and i think he would think that we are in a moment, partly, i mean, it's a trifecta i think because we had the pandemic, the we had police killings, and we have a president, who is making everything worse. and so here we are. all of that i think is uniting to allow a moment when there might really be some significant change. >> that's going back through his readings about violence and riots, it seems to me he wasn't opposed to much principal ground. he clearly -- problematic because he believed in the inherent dignity of everyone. but when -- issues about the trouble nature of police officers -- or the destruction of property in one statement. would you agree -- [inaudible] would you agree it was supposed to violent so much of principle pragmatic grounds? does that make sense to you? >> julian? >> yeah. >> yes. i think there were two views of violence, at least two in sncc and one was it was a tactic, for some it was a tactic and for others it was a philosophy of life. and for julian a was defini

you could not be sncc a representative of sncc because sncc disagreed with the strategy of sclc.alcolm was present. sncc organizers were challenging the basic strategygy. member, ththe they end up organizing and what would become the first iteration of the black panther party a year later, stokely carmichael will declare he no longer is going to say freedom now but say black power. john lewis was the chahair of sc from 1963 to 1966. he in effect was in some ways the leader of the radicalization of this student organization. and it broke his heart, amy, that he lost t to stokely carmichael as chairperson, that he had to walk away, but i it hs something g to do with his commitment to the philosophy of nonviolence. let me tell you this really quickly, we often n tell the sty of black power t the civil righs movement as if they arare wholly separate. when we look at sncc i look at the life of john lewis, we see that many of the people who cried black power were somome of the same young people who risk their lives nonviolently and in the bowels of the south. they confronted the terror

commonly known as sncc. that weekend was remembered by me, transformative to me, john and i enjoyed almost 60 years of friendship. so are we. prudential helps 1 in 7 americans with their financial needs. that's over 25 million people. with over 90 years of investment experience, our thousands of financial professionals can help with secure video chat or on the phone. we make it easy for you with online tools, e-signatures, and no-medical-exam life insurance. plan for better days. go to prudential.com or talk to an advisor. plan for better days. i don't have to worry about that, do i?are irritated. harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. it works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. gum detoxify, from crest. >>> as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, some areas of florida are running out of places to keep all of the sick. the state has the highest number of cases per capita anywhere in the u.s. in miami

, the commit teen known as sncc.to fighting against injustice and for his beliefs was not easy. he endured remarkable violence at the hands of authority as a freedom writer. he had his skull broken after leading a march across a bridge named for a kkk member. he was arrested in 2006 and in 2009 for a sit-in protesting genocide. repeating a martin luther king quote. he continued to preach nonviolence in his life and never shied away that might have violence against him or arrest when he witnessed injustice, whether it be with other civil rights leaders or with our current president. he spent his whole life fighting b b bigotry. his teachings and legacy are morel and important now than ever. america is in turmoil and right for change. people are take together streets, risking violence from authorized and at the hands of police once again. discontented with living in a country that continues to foster inequities based on race. everyone seems to have a john lewis story. i celebrated his 73rd birthday with him at a benefi

so from africa to asia was for these sncc activists not a long leap. and other militant african-americans, not just associated with sncc, also using this kind of critique. began to speak out early about the war in vietnam. now, this is not mainstream groups. the reverend king, for example, in 1964 and 1965, is not speaking out against the war in vietnam. he had private reservations, but he did not make public those concerns at this time. these are more, again, radical black activists in the united states. again for the overwhelming majority of american people, like the pacifists, this was a group that could be essentially dismissed. ok, these people are radical. they've got some overarching complaint about u.s. policy. you know, whatever. and like the pacifists, these are not voices that are heard on the "nightly news," they're not reported in the "new york times" or "time" magazine. there's a fairly narrow window of mass media at this point. it's hard to get your voice into those few niches where you can be heard by more than a few hundred thousand pe

sncc came to that point where, in my estimation, it was forced to die a natural death.were conceived in this whole idea of the building of a truly interracial democracy. there were black students and white students, working together, building together, suffering together. you cannot forget that in 1964, one year after i became chair, during the mississippi summer project, that we recruited all these young people, blacks and whites, primarily students, but lawyers and doctors and priests and nuns came to work in mississippi during the voter registration drive. that state had a black vote in each population of more than 450,000, but only about 16,000 were registered to vote. and these young people and people not so young came there to work in their freedom schools. and three young men that i knew, that i had met during the early part of the summer, andy goodman, mickey schwerner, white, james cheney, african-american, went out on a sunday night, june 21, 1964. they were detained by the sheriff, later taken to jail. that same evening, they were taken from jail, beaten, sho

so seering was his example that he was elected chair of sncc, not because he was strongest but because he was the bravest. unquote. talk to us more about what he meant to you personally, what he meant to you behind the scenes, away from the cameras, away from protest lines, just a person. >> for me john was first, a colleague in the civil rights movement and sncc, then a colleague in the congress. he meant a great deal to me because his example was important to me particularly in the civil rights movement. it may be as we see people now following that original example with black lives matter, it may not be possible to imagine the danger that john lewis confronted when he led sncc into the south. when i, for example, went into mississip mississippi, my parents thought i was crazy, not crazy, just young and foolish. that was the role of sncc, to be the young foolish americans who would lead the way, go even where martin luther king did not go. in fact, john led the movement in the deep south, opened up whole sections of the south and there followed the rest of the civil rights movement.

sncc came to that point where, in my estimation, it was forced to die a natural death. we were conceived in this whole idea of the building of a truly interracial democracy. there were black students and white students, working together, building together, suffering together. you cannot forget that in 1964, one year after i became chair, during the mississippi summer project, that we recruited all these young people, blacks and whites, primarily students, but lawyers and doctors and priests and nuns came to work in mississippi during the voter registration drive. that state had a black vote in each population of more than 450,000, but only about 16,000 were registered to vote. and these young people and people not so young came there to work in their freedom schools. and three young men that i knew, that i had met during the early part of the summer, andy goodman, mickey schwerner, white, james cheney, african-american, went out on a sunday night, june 21, 1964. they were detained by the sheriff, later taken to jail. that same evening, they were taken from jail, beaten,

sncc others were involved in, that organization is no longer there. but there are young people who are leading on college are campuses as that group in the student nonviolent coordinating committee. and i think we should not look for a single person to be the leader anymore because there's no one in the world who can say, well, we have one leader for white folk or one leader for the brits. and that's where we are x. if that's a good thing, because it means that we've made progress. harris: wow. that is so uplifting and such an informed and positive way to look at all of this, because it is a sign of progress that we can look in the psalm direction but not have -- in the same direction but not have to be the same, everybody not having to follow the same pattern because of the progress that's been made. before i let you go, i do want to say that the family of john lewis has just crossed the bridge. we were waiting for those big vehicles and the big motor coaches, congressman cleaver, to cross. and so as we get ready, we can see now down at the entrance

john became chair of sncc around 1963.e was summarily ousted by an insurgency group and their slogan became burn, baby, burn. that was not john's way. as a result, yeah -- >> you got to show me what you have there. i don't know if you can turn it around. >> well -- >> that's an old piece of paper. >> yeah. in 1960 when i got to atlanta, we all signed up for various workshops, and my workshop, i don't remember what they were, vp-3-paa and several years ago john came to south carolina to speak at an naacp function and i was set to introduce him and my wife had these things skwirld away and she showed it to me and i took it, one of these copies and gave it to john as a part of his introduction, and, of course, it was a very emotional scene. so i've kept it ever sings, and this morning when i started here to washington i just picked one of them up and copied it and brought it along. >> yeah, it was in your wallet. i want to ask about congress, but real quick in this new documentary "good trouble" you talk about the fact that w

he helped organize the student nonviolent committee, sncc, sncc. and he -- -- started at a young age in the civil rights movement, at a time when it was not only difficult, but it was possibly life-threatening, and for many, they did lose their life in that battle. and john lost blood. he shed blood. for the cause. but he never took it as a moment to get down. he never took it as a moment to be bytyqier. he wanted to continue fighting, to make america a more perfect union, and he did. and that's what we'll remember about john. we'll remember his warm hearted spirit. he was one of those very few people, in a body like this, where when he stood at the podium to speak, no matter what side you were on, on that issue, you stopped, you sat down and you listened. because you knew you were listening to somebody who was larger than life. john's in a better place right now. but america's a better place because john was here. god bless john lewis and his family. and i yield back to my friend from north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields b

i had never heard the story of sncc.er heard the full breadth and depth of john lewis' story. why didn't tell me that i as a young person had so much power? >> he kept saying to me, congressman, you should write a comic book. and i said, oh, maybe. but he wouldn't give up. and i finally said, yes, if you do it with me. >> the first part of their graphic novel, called "march" came out in 2013. wearing an outfit just like the one he wore at the bridge in selma, lewis met his new fans at comic-con. the third book won a national book award in 2016, the first time a graphic novel had ever won. >> i remember going down to the public library trying to get library cards, and we were told that the library was for whites only and not for coloreds. and to come here and receive this award, this honor, it's too much [ applause ] thank you. >> in another sign of how much he and the nation had come, john lewis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the selma march with an african-american president, retracing those fateful steps over the e

i had never heard the story of sncc.ever heard the full depth and breadth of john lewis' story. why didn't anybody tell me that i as a young person had so much power? >> he kept saying to me, "congressman, you should write a comic book." and i said, maybe, but they wouldn't give up. and i finally said, "yes, if you do it with me." >> reporter: the first part of their graphic novel called "march" came out in 2013. wearing an outfit just like the one he wore at the bridge in selma, lewis met his new fans at comic-con. the third book won a national book award in 2016. the first time a graphic novel had ever won. >> i remember going down to the public library, trying to get library cards, and we were told that the library was for whites only and not for coloreds. and to come here and receive this award, this honor with these -- it's too much. thank you. >> reporter: in another sign of how far he and the nation had come, john lewis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the selma march with an african-american president, retracin

just three years later, he lost the leadership of sncc to stokely carmichael.ecause, he said, you know, i would really -- i think it was a pretty good job for a guy that young to come from troy, alabama. it must have been painful to lose. but he showed as a young man there's some things that you cannot do to hang on to a position, because if you do them, you won't be who you are anymore. and i say, there were two or three years there where the movement went a little bit too far toward stokely. but, in the end, john lewis prevailed. we are here today because he had the kind of character he showed when he lost an election. [applause] then, there was bloody sunday. he figured he might get arrested. and this is really important. for all the things we believe about john lewis, he had a really good mind, and he was always trying to figure out, how can i make the most of every single moment? so he's getting ready to march from selma to montgomery, he wants to get across the bridge. what do we remember? he made -- cut quite a strange figure. he had a trench coat and a

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 contin

afte leaving sncc in 1966, he began working with groups like the voter education project, helping morehen, in 1981, lewis won a seat on the atlanta city council. in 1987, he was elected to congress, where he would represent atlanta for the rest of his career. rep. lewis: when you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have the moral obligation to say something. judy:hi wng servi in the house of representatives, lewis championed what he called good trouble, continuing to push for civil rights both in congress and outside. as a lawmaker, he washe voice for voting rights. rep lewis: the vote is the most powerful tool we have in a democratic society, and people should be able to use it. judy: and later, gun reforms. in 2016, and the spit of his younger years during the civil rights movement, he let house democrats in a sit in on the house floor to protect the inaction by the republican majority. rep. lewis: do we have the courage -- do we have raw courage to make at least a down payment on ending gun violenc in america?we can no longer wai. we can no loer be patient. so t

and the goals we set out for ourselves, back in 1960 when we were 20-something-year-olds getting snccanized. and of course, the last conversation we had. in-person conversation was on the floor of the house, when we started comparing what was going on with black lives matter today, comparing that with what went on with us back in 1960 with sncc. and we had -- we were both kind of anxious about it. we didn't want to see this very successful effort that's taking place today with black lives matter get derailed, the way our efforts got derailed back in 1960. we were doing great things. desegregated schools. we were doing stuff. then, all of a sudden, we woke up one morning and there was this big headline. burn, baby, burn. and it destroyed our movement. john spoke out against defund the police. and so did i. because we felt that kind of slog slogancou slogan could for black lives matter what it did for us in 1960. >> yeah. he would go places where he knew the likelihood of violence was great, and violence where he would get hurt. and yet, he went anyway. and he, in the face of being beat

like defund the police were doing the same thing to black lives matter that burn baby burn did to sncc. he spoke out against that and i did as well. looting andwas burning are not the way to go. you a goodg may give headline. it will not make good headway. that was what we were concerned about in the last conversation we had. become: john lewis has the first black lawmaker to lie in state at the rotunda. i suppose his career and your career spanned such crucial decades when it comes to racially quality in the united states. where do you see the movement now? fromo you think picks up people like john lewis? rep. clyburn: there are great people. the black lives matter movement thannk is much broader people give it credit for being. it is not just about law enforcement. is about health care. it is about housing. is about the plethora of things that it takes to build strong families and have safe communities. that is what the black lives matter movement is all about. everyelieve that with era, there comes leaders. back in the 1960's, everybody called the civil rights movement. i don't like

they form the student nonviolent coordinating committee known as sncc. >> we had become warriors.an't say well we've just one. there's a dynamic. the more you do, the more you go up against the beast of racism and the more there was to do. >> for lewis that means joining the first freedom rides, trying to degree segregate bus stations in the south. he is beaten and imprisoned. other freedom riders are attacked by the ku klux klan, their bus fire bormd in anniston alabama. >> people people in the black community said we should stop the freedom rides. it was too dangerous. >> reporter: well, wasn't it? it was a dangerous mission and we knew that yes. >> you actually wrote wills out. we wrote wills. but it was important for to us make a statement that the nonvile locate movement, the philosophy of nonviolence would not be defeated by acts of violence. > reporter: so the protests go on, in places like birmingham, alabama, where police turn fire hoses and dogs on high school students. halberstam says the young people leading the movement followed a deliberate strategy. >> we are going

what lessons can young people learn today from sncc?guest: jason, you're doing the right thing i studying but we attempted to do in the student nonviolent coordinating committee. as you well know, before we went on any protest like a sit in or freedom ride, that we studied. we studied and we abused ourselves with the philosophy and with the discipline of nonviolence. we never ever tried to put someone down. we were always trying to respect our opponent and our fellow human beings. be organized and be honest and truthful and have goals and follow your sense of what is right, your sense of what is fair and just. not only be persistent but also be insistent, and operate on great principles. hang in there. >> host: kl is calling from montana. you are watching booktv on c-span2 and i guess is author and congressman john lewis. >> caller: thank you for all your hard work over the years. i question pertains to indian tribes of the united states. legally, we are still wards of the federal government and we have utilized every civil rights tool

there was no difference between sclc.naacp, sncc, to the segregationists, they were all the same. i have always ascribed to the notion that there were some people who would be active in the aa cp -- the naacp, who would never be active in core, but we need their push as a thrust for this movement forward. i don't go back and belabor any negative points about the organizations that were involved because i think there were es for all of us to put our shoulders to the plow to move this wretched animal of segregation out of the way. >> tell me about bob moses. moses, aer: bob brilliant guy. a visionary. on takingre focused care of freedom riders in jackson, which is when i first was involvedmoses in managing the campaigns of some of the local ministers who are running for congress. he was looking ahead to the status,l for political solidifying some of the gains that we were trying to get to happen or to occur. -- the algebra project. he and dave dennis work together. i have high respect for bob moses. one of the things i respect about bob moses, there were people involved in this opin

in 1960, he came to my hometown, raleigh, north carolina, to form sncc at a small black college.

to form sncc at a small black college where my father, who was president of the naacp led nightly civil

sncc. that we can was transformative to me, john and i enjoyed all most 60 years of friendship. we never thought back then we would be successful enough in the movement to both end up serving in congress. yet for almost 27 years we did it. when i became majority whip, i often talk about how simple it was to whip john lewis true you always knew exactly how he was going to vote. doesn't mean you would always become triple with his vote, you knew he would -- how he would vote. of those people who internalized nonviolence. many of us practiced it, but he lived it. i would never go to john to second or nominate me. i always ask for his support but never asked him to second my nomination because i never wanted him to be put in a position of not being able to say he was for everybody, because he was. he was that person. we are going to miss that person , john lewis will forever be in our heart, mind, and our souls. that's from jim clyburn of south carolina about the death of congressman john lewis. we will go back to our phone lines. from pinehurst, north carolina. good morning. caller

sncc others were involved in, that organization is no longer there.o are leading on college are campuses as that group in the student nonviolent coordinating committee. and i think we should not look for a single person to be the leader anymore because there's no one in the world who can say, well, we have one leader for white folk or one leader for the brits. and that's where we are x. if that's a good thing, because it means that we've made progress. harris: wow. that is so uplifting and such an informed and positive way to look at all of this, because it is a sign of progress that we can look in the psalm direction but not have -- in the same direction but not have to be the same, everybody not having to follow the same pattern because of the progress that's been made. before i let you go, i do want to say that the family of john lewis has just crossed the bridge. we were waiting for those big vehicles and the big motor coaches, congressman cleaver, to cross. and so as we get ready, we can see now down at the entrance to the bridge that caisson tha

he helped organize the student nonviolent committee, sncc, sncc. and he -- -- started at a young age in the civil rights movement, at a time when it was not only difficult, but it was possibly life-threatening, and for many, they did lose their life in that battle. and john lost blood. he shed blood. for the cause. but he never took it as a moment to get down. he never took it as a moment to be bytyqier. he wanted to continue fighting, to make america a more perfect union, and he did. and that's what we'll remember about john. we'll remember his warm hearted spirit. he was one of those very few people, in a body like this, where when he stood at the podium to speak, no matter what side you were on, on that issue, you stopped, you sat down and you listened. because you knew you were listening to somebody who was larger than life. john's in a better place right now. but america's a better place because john was here. god bless john lewis and his family. and i yield back to my friend from north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields b

in 1960, he came to my hometown, raleigh, north carolina, to form sncc at a small black college. shaw university, where my father was president of the naacp and lead nightly civil rights demonstrations. again, in 1963, our lives intersected because my father returned from the march on washington and began raving about a speaker, young john lewis, who had electrified the crowd. so, imagine when i finally met him in atlanta in 1976, as a young law student. hit was a transcendent moment, like meeting a figure like thomas jefferson or benjamin franklin, who wrote the declaration of independence, but yet, here is somebody who made america live up to those noble words. along with dr. king and reverend abernathy, and a young, joseph lowery, ct vivian, another lion who we lost on the same day as john lewis. john had an incorruptible integrity, and ideological purity which was like a halo. somehow this extended to everyone who was in his orbit, myself included. that's the reason the nation has paused from pandemic and protest and politics to bid him farewell today. virtually every news or

to form sncc at a small black college where my father, who was president of the naacp led nightly civil rights demonstrations. again, in 1963, our lives intersected because my father returned from the march on washington. he began raving about a speaker, young john lewis who had electrified the crowd. and so imagine when i finally met him in atlanta in 1976 as a young law student, it was a transcendent moment like meeting historical figure thomas jefferson or benjamin franklin who wrote the declaration of independence but yet, here was someone who had made america live up to those noble words. along with dr. king and reverend abernathy and andy young and joseph lowery and c.t. vivian, another lion who we lost on the same day as john lewis. john had an incorruptible integrity, an ideological purity which was like a halo. somehow this extended to everyone who was in his orbit. myself included. and that's the reason the nation has paused from pandemic and protests and politics to bid him farewell today. virtually every news organization has hailed john as a civil rights hero. but john was

as a young man, he became chairman of sncc, student nonviolent coordinating committee and organized peacefulrotests at segregated lunch towers throughout the south. the youngest to speaker of the 1963 march on washington and he helped lead a march across the edmund pettus bridge in selma elmselma,alabama,. televised images of the violent police crackdown galvanize support for the civil rights act of 1965. >> the one thing that you will is do the will of god, no matter what the cost. and john lewis walked into congress with the same sense of oneness with god. >> 1981, he won a seat on the atlanta city council and five years later elected to congress where he served georgia's fifth congressional district for nearly four decades. lewis was a member of the congressional black caucus and served on the committee on ways and means. if you need to champion progressive including women's rights, immigrant rights, and health care reform. member of the washington establishment, he never left the activist spirit. at 2016 he let democrats in a surprise sit and in the house chamber to call for gun control