代表. 约翰·刘易斯:“记住，我们全靠你了.'

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发布于2015年12月12日

爱丽丝杰克逊

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Civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis challenged graduates of the University of 南 Alabama on Saturday “to go out and use your education as a great tool to change 世界.”

这位土生土长的阿拉巴马人曾与已故牧师一起工作. Dr. 马丁·路德·金. during some of the most dangerous and bloody times of the historic Civil Rights Movement, spoke to the nearly 1,000 graduates who participated in Fall Commencement held in 米切尔中心. Fall commencement is the graduation exercise for students who completed academic requirements during the summer or the fall term.

The University awarded Lewis, a graduate of Fisk University, an honorary doctorate degree for his lifetime achievements in social justice, human rights and civic leadership.

Lewis entered local politics in Atlanta in 1981, and he has represented Georgia’s 美国第五国会选区.S. 自1986年以来一直担任众议院议员.

Lewis was a Freedom Rider who challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across 南. He was the architect of and a keynote speaker of the historic March on 1963年8月，华盛顿. 1965年，他和同为民权领袖的霍西·威廉姆斯 led more than 600 orderly 抗议ors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to walk 去蒙哥马利支持投票权. 然而，游行者遭到了 Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as Bloody Sunday and helped to hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 尽管超过了 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, Lewis remains an advocate of nonviolent 抗议.

Pausing to look at the graduates, Lewis praised changes in America, such as the Civil Rights Movement, for producing such a diverse group “of beautiful, handsome rebels.”

“Enjoy what you have today, take it all in, breathe in the wonder of all of it,” Lewis 说.

Then, Lewis reminded them that their advantages stemmed from the high price paid by 前几代. He shared how as a young child in Pike County he questioned why he and his friends were restricted to the second floor of the local theater while white children sat comfortably on the theater’s first floor.

“I questioned these things and searched for answers because I was inspired by history and by the writings and teachings of great teachers who came before me,” Lewis 说. “Do what I did, and go out and use your education as a great tool to change injustice 让这个世界变得更美好. 如果你不用它，谁来用呢?”

Lewis recalled how a family shotgun house of his childhood would sometimes lift from its foundation during strong storms, and an elderly aunt would direct him and his siblings to run from corner to corner, using their weight to keep the home grounded. He likened how today Alabama and the nation are somewhat like that rickety old house.

“我们必须都住在这所房子里，”刘易斯说. “我们的祖先来到这个国家 from many lands, but today we’re all in the same ship, the same house, here.”

In closing, Lewis 说: “I didn’t give up when it was my turn, and I kept the faith 你们现在必须拥有自己，因为轮到你们了. 记住，我们是相互依赖的 在你.”

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