Top 77 John Lewis Quotes

Reading the Martin Luther King story, that little comic book, set me on the path that I’m on today.

Too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.

I think my whole life has been one of sort of daring, and sort of sailing against the wind instead of just going with the wind.

Rosa Parks inspired me to find a way to get in the way, to get in trouble… good trouble, necessary trouble.

In 1965, the attempted march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7 was planned to dramatize to the state of Alabama and to the nation that people of color wanted to register to vote.

Never become bitter, and in the process, be happy and just go for it.

The government, both state and federal, has a duty to be reasonable and accommodating.

I don’t think Trump really believes in all this stuff. But he thinks this would be his ticket to the White House – at least to get the Republican nomination.

What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and its grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible.

You have to tell the whole truth, the good and the bad, maybe some things that are uncomfortable for some people.

If it hadn’t been for that march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, there would be no Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

It was not enough to come and listen to a great sermon or message every Sunday morning and be confined to those four walls and those four corners. You had to get out and do something.

I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders.

We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jails over and over again. And then you holler, ‘Be patient.’ How long can we be patient?

I think President Barack Obama has been a good president.

When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.

We come to Selma to be renewed. We come to be inspired. We come to be reminded that we must do the work that justice and equality calls us to do.

I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people.

The party of Kennedy is also the party of Eastland. The party of Javits is also the party of Goldwater.

The documented incidences of voter fraud are very rare, yet throughout the country, forces have mobilized in over 30 states to stop it. These efforts are very partisan.

Before we went on any protest, whether it was sit-ins or the freedom rides or any march, we prepared ourselves, and we were disciplined. We were committed to the way of peace – the way of non-violence – the way of love – the way of life as the way of living.

The press is supposed to serve as a check on government.

What ‘March’ is saying is that it doesn’t matter whether we are black or white, Latino or Asian. It doesn’t matter whether we are straight or gay.

It’s not just Barack Obama, but I doubt Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton would have made it to the White House without Selma.

When growing up, I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn’t like it.

The March on Washington was a March for Jobs and Freedom. There are still too many people who are unemployed or underemployed in America – they’re black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian American.

There’s nothing wrong with a little agitation for what’s right or what’s fair.

We must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people, have centers where people can get the necessary help.

I am very, very hopeful about the American South – I believe that we will lead America to what Dr. King called ‘the beloved community.’

There is a need for a movement of non-violent direct action.

Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.

I do not agree with what Mr. Snowden did. He has damaged American international relations and compromised our national security. He leaked classified information and may have jeopardized human lives. That must be condemned.

Dr. King was one of the most inspiring human beings I ever met. He was such a warm, compassionate, and loving human being.

We are one people; we are only family. And when we finally accept these truths, then we will be able to fulfill Dr. King’s dream to build a beloved community, a nation, and a world at peace with itself.

I have met every president since President Kennedy. And I think Barack Obama must be listed as one of the best. This young man has been so inspiring – not just to people in America but to people all around the world.

Many young people, many children, are being abused, being put down, being bullied because of their sexual orientation.

My mother and father and many of my relatives had been sharecroppers.

You have to be persistent.

I’m very hopeful. I am very optimistic about the future.

There are still forces in America that want to divide us along racial lines, religious lines, sex, class. But we’ve come too far; we’ve made too much progress to stop or to pull back. We must go forward. And I believe we will get there.

The vote controls everything that you do.

My parents told me in the very beginning as a young child when I raised the question about segregation and racial discrimination, they told me not to get in the way, not to get in trouble, not to make any noise.

We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters.

You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward.

I travel all the time, but when I come back to the South, I see such progress. In a real sense, a great deal of the South has been redeemed. People feel freer, more complete, more whole, because of what happened in the movement.

Sometimes you have to not just dream about what could be – you get out and push and you pull and you preach. And you create a climate and environment to get those in high places, to get men and women of good will in power to act.

The civil rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were not in keeping with our faith, so we had to do something.

I think Dr. King would be pleased to see the number of elected officials of color – African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and progressive whites.

It’s a shame and a disgrace that so few people take part in the political process.

When I was a student, I studied philosophy and religion. I talked about being patient. Some people say I was too hopeful, too optimistic, but you have to be optimistic just in keeping with the philosophy of non-violence.

When you make mistakes, when you’re wrong, you should admit you’re wrong and ask people to forgive you.

When I was growing up in rural Alabama, it was impossible for me to register to vote. I didn’t become a registered voter until I moved to Tennessee, to Nashville, as a student.

The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.

I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble.

Too many of us still believe our differences define us.

We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against. And it doesn’t matter whether they are black or white, Latino, Asian or Native American, whether they are straight or gay, Muslim, Christian, or Jews.

The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. made me very, very sad, and I mourned and I cried like many of our citizens did.

Comics, in a sense, the style, the images – it’s almost like music. They say music is a universal language, but when the eyes behold something, a figure, somebody moving; it’s real, and it cannot be denied.

I believe that you see something that you want to get done, you cannot give up, and you cannot give in.

I grew up in rural Alabama, 50 miles from Montgomery, in a very loving, wonderful family: wonderful mother, wonderful father. We attended church; we went to Sunday school every Sunday.

Early on, I wrote a letter to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was 17. I felt called, moved.

We all live in the same house, we all must be part of the effort to hold down our little house. When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just… do something about it. Say something. Have the courage. Have the backbone. Get in the way. Walk with the wind. It’s all going to work out.

I was so inspired by Dr. King that in 1956, with some of my brothers and sisters and first cousins – I was only 16 years old – we went down to the public library trying to check out some books, and we were told by the librarian that the library was for whites only and not for colors. It was a public library.

A few days after Bloody Sunday, there was demonstration in more than 80 American cities. People were demanding that the government act.