Elijah Lewis: “I want to thank Mr. Conyers, the chairman of the full committee, for his leadership and for his dedication to the issue…”

“I want to thank Mr. Conyers, the chairman of the full committee, for his leadership and for his dedication to the issue and the cause of civil rights, and for bringing this resolution to the floor. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the courage and conviction of three young men, Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. On June 21, 1964, they gave their lives in a struggle for voting rights in America. There was a time, just 44 years ago, when it was almost impossible in the American south for people of color to register and vote. Then, I was 24 years old and the chair of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, better known as SNCC. I traveled around the country encouraging young people to come to Mississippi to get involved with the Freedom Summer. It was the summer of 1964. At that time, the State of Mississippi had a black population of voting age of more than 450,000, but only about 18,000 blacks were registered to vote. It was dangerous, very dangerous, for those of us who believed that everyone should have the right to vote. But in spite of the risks, there were people--young and old, black and white, rich and poor--people like Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, who put aside the comfort of their own lives to make sure that every citizen had free and fair access to the ballot, not only in Mississippi, but throughout America.”