Political Quotes

“The word ``hero'' is used a little too often these days. But make no mistake, John Lewis personified the word. He was, without question, a true American hero. The fearlessness he demonstrated throughout the civil rights movement, but especially on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965, demonstrated to people across the globe how to stand up for equality, justice, and basic civil and human rights in the face of overwhelming odds. Quite simply, his heroic actions transformed our Nation and our world. Early on in my time in Congress, I had the pleasure of meeting Congressman Lewis for the first time. When he found out I was from Cincinnati, he immediately asked me a question that I would hear from him many times in the coming years, how was his friend and fellow civil rights leader, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, doing. The two men had worked together throughout the 1960s, along with Dr. Martin Luther King, organizing marches, sit-ins, and freedom rides. Like John Lewis, Reverend Shuttlesworth remained committed to civil rights throughout his life and worked diligently to improve conditions in Cincinnati. Not surprisingly, when I would see Reverend Shuttlesworth back home, he would ask how John Lewis was doing up here. As a result, I was kind of a messenger between these two-larger-than-life civil rights icons, and they will always be inextricably linked in my memory.…”