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.
John LewisRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the integral role of faith in the civil rights movement and the moral obligation to combat injustice.
John Lewis highlights how deeply faith informed the actions of participants in the civil rights movement. For many, their struggle against segregation and racial discrimination was not only a social or political endeavor but a profound expression of their spiritual beliefs. They viewed their fight for equality as a calling to fulfill a divine mandate, reinforcing the idea that faith can inspire courage and motivate individuals to take action against injustice.
Themes
FaithCivil RightsJusticeInjusticeSegregationDiscriminationActivism
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of moral conviction in activism.
More from John Lewis
All quotes →The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.
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Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.
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I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end.'
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We need someone who is going to stand up, speak up, and speak out for the people who need help, for the people who have been discriminated against.
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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.
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