On Friday, we lost two giants in the civil rights movement, C.T. Vivian, an early civil rights organizer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Congressman John Lewis, a member of the March on Washington’s Big Six and a dedicated politician and activist who served Georgia’s 5th congressional district faithfully for more than three decades. We mourn them and honor them as national treasures in the fight for equality and justice in America.
Both southern-born, Mr. Vivian and Congressman Lewis, are part of the original guard of movement-builders and grassroots organizers from the civil rights movement of the 1960s. We salute them for their bravery, their voices and their activism to hold America accountable to the ideals upon which it was founded.
Their legacy reminds us that the work for civil rights is a long one. They dedicated their lives to the cause and bear the scars of working on the front lines in the battlefield for justice. The movement they helped to build continues today as America seems determined to roll-back on promises and progress made over the years.
But we take heart knowing that we are rooted in a strong and powerful ancestral plane of thinkers, believers, and doers whose shoulders we stand on. We are driven by their sacrifices, struggles and achievements. We are inspired by their lessons, strength and love.
We are eternally grateful for the many contributions of Mr. Vivian and Congressman Lewis, for their years of service, for their wise counsel and for their unyielding spirit in the fight for justice. We are honored to have known them and learn from them, and will continue to build on their legacy in the pursuit of voting rights and racial justice today.
Rest in Power.
In solidarity,
Black Voters Matter
