Andre Carson: “John Lewis was certainly a leader amongst men. He was a mentor. He was a friend. And my heart goes out to his family.…”

“John Lewis was certainly a leader amongst men. He was a mentor. He was a friend. And my heart goes out to his family. Our hearts go out to his family. I can remember, Mr. Speaker, during the healthcare vote, I was coming out of Cannon and I ran into John, and he asked: ``How many votes do we have left, or how much time do we have left?'' I said: ``I think we will make it.'' We crossed the street, along with his chief, Michael, and there were thousands of people yelling: ``Kill the bill. Kill the bill. Kill the bill.'' And that wasn't it. They were yelling expletives, racial expletives, at the three of us. And John looked at me and said: ``Brother Andre, this reminds me of a darker time, brother.'' John became a mentor. We would call him up, and he would speak to the Muslim community. We would call him up, and he would speak to the folks in Indiana who were there when it was announced that Dr. King had passed, because he was in Indianapolis at the time. {time} 1900 He was a true servant, Mr. Speaker. Jesus was mentioned. John was like Jesus. I am reminded of a Scripture when Jesus was having a conversation with his disciples about this notion of leadership, and Jesus looked at his disciples and said: He who wishes to be chief among you shall first be your servant. John was a servant. He wasn't the kind of leader who looked at the protesters today and said: Oh, what you are going through is nothing compared to what we went through.…”