Wendy Sherman: “John R. Lewis honored us with his presence on this floor for over 3 decades. That a man of such courage and such…”

“John R. Lewis honored us with his presence on this floor for over 3 decades. That a man of such courage and such accomplishment would dedicate so much of his life to this House confirmed the decision of all of us to give up our private lives and private measures and to spend our time here in the people's House. Five years ago, I was honored to go to Terri Sewell's hometown of Selma and on the 50th anniversary to walk with John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where, 50 years prior to that time, John Lewis had been beaten down and his skull fractured. We walked forward across that bridge with John Lewis, and with the President of the United States, President Barack Obama, to prove that America walks forward, and that the progress that we have made cannot be turned back. Years later, many of us joined John on this floor to make some good trouble when we took over the floor of this House to demand a vote on commonsense gun control. President Barack Obama, when he awarded John the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said: ``Generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of John Lewis will come to mind; an American who knew that change will not wait for some other person or some other time, whose life is a lesson in the fierce urgency of now.'' And that is why I say now is the time to pass what should be called the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act.…”