Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s commemorative “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Alabama, urging attendees to use their right to vote “to redeem the soul of America.”
White Alabama state troopers fractured Lewis’ head when he was 25 years old on what became known as Bloody Sunday, when Lewis and several hundred other voting rights activists faced state-sanctioned violence for peacefully marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965.
The commemorative gathering honored the Selma protest and those who suffered in the fight to ensure voting rights for Black Americans.
“Fifty-five years ago, a few of God’s children attempted to march from Brown Chapel AME Church across this bridge,” Lewis, 80, said in a passionate speech on Sunday. “We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me.”
The Georgia congressman’s remarks came as the Democratic primary ramps up, with South Carolina voting on Saturday and 14 additional states voting in the upcoming Super Tuesday primaries this week. Lewis used the moment of the primaries and the nature of the Selma march to encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote.
“We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize,” he said. “We must go out and vote like we never, ever voted before.”
Lewis was first elected to Congress in 1986 to serve Georgia’s 5th district, which encompasses much of Atlanta. He is often referred to as “the conscience of Congress” and is widely respected on both sides of the aisle. Lewis frequently talks about getting into “good trouble,” a reference to his repeated arrests during his time as a civil rights activist. Lewis on Sunday brought up the necessity for those attending the march to make “good trouble.”
“Some people gave more than a little blood, some gave their very lives. So to each and every one of you, especially you young people … go out there,” he said. “Speak up, speak out. Get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
It was unclear in advance whether the congressman would be able to participate in the Sunday march, after he was diagnosed in December with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Lewis said he is undergoing treatment and that he intends to keep serving his district as he does.
“I’m not gonna give up. I’m not gonna give in. I’m gonna continue to fight. We need your prayers now more than ever before,” Lewis said on Sunday. “We must use the vote as a nonviolent instrument or tool to redeem the soul of America.”