Archive for civil rights

John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon and U.S. Congressman: touching greatness

John Lewis, longtime U.S. congressman and civil rights icon for “good trouble,” was buried on July 30, 2020.  The Georgia legislator was legendary for his lifelong patriotic protest and dissent against inequality.  He played major roles in the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.  I once held his hand. Few can connect the […]

Visit to The Civil Rights Institute: Choosing Humanity Over Otherness

Today America is in the midst of a tectonic shift regarding money, culture, and a fear of outsiders. Fifty-six years ago, these same issues divided our country. At the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) in Alabama, I came face-to-face with past laws that justified abuse and oppression to Black American citizens. For today’s younger generations, […]

Civil rights icon John Lewis: love and non-violent protest

(Photo of Hon. John Lewis taken by Suzette Standring) Our fractured society is discouraging, so take heart from Hon. John Lewis, the Georgia State Representative (5th District) who received the 2017 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Student Ivan Rahman asked, “Will you share a time in your activism when you […]