Reflecting on his inspiring legacy on the anniversary of Emmett Till’s murder. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser [link removed].
Hello friends,
In his posthumous essay published by The New York Times last month, John Lewis wrote, “Emmett Till was my George Floyd.” Today, on the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till’s murder, I’d like to share some of our team’s reflections about the ways John Lewis inspires our work to move our country forward. >> [link removed]
At New Politics, one of the fundamental challenges we face in our efforts to recruit servant leaders for office, is convincing good people to embark on a career in which they will carry the title “politician.” It’s a profession with a damaged reputation; the name itself is used as a slight, a catchall meant to identify someone who is craven, dishonest, or power hungry. But for nearly four decades, John Lewis was a politician—one who remained committed to his core values and who never succumbed to the self-serving behavior so often associated with the title.
That Congressman Lewis, a man who spent his formative years fighting for basic civil rights and who endured a fractured skull as he protested voter suppression in an unequal democracy, would participate in that democracy as an elected leader until his last days, is almost incomprehensible. John Lewis’s determination to reform from within, the very structures and institutions that had once violently excluded him, remains an inspiring testament to the promise of America. He was a man who believed in our nation, despite its imperfections.
This year has been a particularly dark time, not just in our lives, but in our nation’s history. On the anniversary of the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, I am reminded of his mother’s insistence on having an open casket at his funeral, so that the nation might be confronted with the barbaric wounds of racism. As we bear witness to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and so many countless others, we are again confronted with our greatest flaw. In a nation that prides itself on self-rule, liberty, and equality, racial injustice continues to fester with life-or-death consequences.
At this moment of unrest and uncertainty, I am keeping in mind Congressman Lewis’s unwavering commitment to effecting change through the democratic process. He was a living legend, the archetype of a politician who we seem to find only in our imagination or in fiction, and rarely if ever, on the campaign trail or in Washington, DC. He was the embodiment of servant leadership.
John Lewis may be gone, but I’m certain there are others just like him waiting in the wings. Women and men wholly committed to this country, to defending its promise, and to pushing us toward the realization of our highest ideals. I’m proud to be recruiting these individuals, the ones answering the call to serve again. The leaders eager to confront the challenges of our time; servant leaders, who with courage and integrity, will make the kind of good trouble that our country so desperately needs.
In service,
Emily Cherniack
Founder & Executive Director
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