EDITOR'S NOTE: Rep. Lewis was one of labor's best friends ever in Washington. He voted the union position on legislation 99 percent of the time he was in Congress. Grupper, a veteran labor and civil rights activist who lives in Louisville, and other SNCC veterans sent this note to him before he died.
By IRA GRUPPER
This personal note comes from the many of us who are Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) veterans to express our deep concern upon learning of your recently diagnosed illness. We also want you to know that you can lean on us, however you need to, as you move through the difficult struggle ahead.
We are thinking of you at this hour and reflecting on our long and deep connection. You represent a mid-20th century cohort of young people who joined SNCC and who decided -- as you challenge young people today -- to “get in the way” of Jim Crow and the denial of human rights through protests such as sit-ins, freedom rides, and campaigns for voting rights, as we did from Jackson, MS to Selma, AL. The memories we have of our “band of brothers and sisters in a circle of trust” have long energized our efforts to teach the Movement in ways that are useful today, when much of what we fought for and won is under assault.
There has hardly been a stronger and more consistent voice in Congress when it comes to advocating and defending the least of us in this country. We who believe in freedom, cannot rest.
You have accomplished much over the last 60 years, fueled by the spirit of the Movement that shaped the country and us.
We have been with you then, and we are with you now.