Tell the story. Tell the story. Tell it over and over again.
February 22, 2018 7:47 PM   Subscribe

"I believe in non-violence, as a way of life, as a way of living." Get In the Way, a documentary about congressman, civil rights leader, and hero John Lewis is currently streaming on PBS.org. John Lewis previously on Metafilter: Gun control sit-in in the House. "Because of you, John." - Barack Obama

The PBS page includes an educational guide for teachers and a discussion guide for discussion groups (with an especially good selection of Lewis quotes for a "quote exchange" activity).

Lewis also tells the story of his work in the civil rights movement in the three-part graphic novel March; the third volume won the National Book Award and brought all three volumes to the top of best-seller lists.

In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor. (Lewis award starts at 29:10.)

Bonus John Lewis video: Congressman Lewis speaks on the floor of the House against the Defense of Marriage Act and in favor of marriage equality:
I will not turn my back on another American. I will not oppress my fellow human being. I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
(transcript)

Note: The PBS stream of Get In the Way may not be available in all locations; apologies for anyone who can't access it. Also, it's due to expire around March 2. It's available on DVD; check your local library. It may also be on some paid streaming services.
posted by kristi (9 comments total) 49 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is great, I can't wait to go through all of it, thanks

And so no one else has that moment of panic - STILL ALIVE.
posted by sweetmarie at 8:14 PM on February 22, 2018 [5 favorites]


As a 21st century American of average intelligence I live in a state of constant cynicism, panic and despair. Rep. John Lewis is a hero, a national treasure and a cultural touchstone. Thank you for the post, I'm looking forward to the documentary.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:49 PM on February 22, 2018 [7 favorites]


John Lewis is who we should all aspire to be when we grow up.
posted by MissySedai at 10:43 PM on February 22, 2018 [3 favorites]


If you haven't read Lewis' memoir of the Civil Rights movement you should remedy that immediately.
posted by COD at 5:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


Lewis also tells the story of his work in the civil rights movement in the three-part graphic novel March;

It's a really, really good trilogy. I strongly recommend it.
posted by solotoro at 5:59 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


I walked past him on the street last year and was dumbstruck. I wanted to say something to reflect my deep admiration. If I see him again, I plan to say "Thank you."
posted by MichelleinMD at 6:50 AM on February 23, 2018


there was a moment in our 60k+ attended Women's March last year when a group of white men and women, some donning a pussyhats, started accosting an incredible (and kind, and fun, and who knows all the places that'll sell beer Saturday night/Sunday morning in Christian Georgia) trans-Latinx activist for being 'too loud and radical' to the point that she started to feel unsafe

to hear her telling it, in the midst of her defending her right to speak, the crowd suddenly parted like the sea, people scooting out of the way in the hurry as if an invisible force had pierced all tens of thousands of people, where suddenly a conga line emerged with John Lewis at the front. it turns out that 1) the march organizers expected a crowd about 50x smaller than had shown up and so by the time the march was supposed to start, the speaker stage was thousands of feet away from the front of massive, overspilled crowd (relative to the marching path) and 2) the organizers figured that the best way to ameliorate this was to have Representative Lewis lead a conga line to the front because who doesn't know who the fuck John Lewis is in Atlanta

so here John Lewis was, parting the seas of protestors, many clad in pink, many bearing signs of biological gender absolutism, when he spots some of these folks aggressively tone-policing the hell out of a traditionally-clad Latinx activist on his way to the front. and so, being John Lewis, he stops the entire line right where this altercation is happening, points a finger at my friend, and beckons her to join this train all the way to the front of the march so that she's in all the photos, in full fabulousness, because whoever John Lewis really is, it sure as shit isn't someone who's going to let tone-policing white moderates be the face of a march he will ever lead

in any case, I'm super fucking cynical about electoral politics at the national level. there's a lot for me to dislike about it and I could go on for hours about how I hate the damn thing. but fuck me if John Lewis isn't the exception to the norm. white supremacy murdered a great many Civil Rights activists but John Lewis survived it and is living up to the ideals he set for himself decades ago, in the most inclusive way that he can imagine it

in a better America, the man should've been President a long time ago. and in the best America, he wouldn't have been the only Civil Rights leader to have been so
posted by runt at 7:20 AM on February 23, 2018 [12 favorites]


Getting to tick the box next to Rep. Lewis' name on the ballot every state Congressional election is a significant joy of living in the 5th district.
posted by fifthpocket at 7:42 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]


another story about Lewis - last summer, Georgia State University acquired Turner Field after the Braves had moved out to white, racist, Cobb County. in doing so, they also entered into a partnership with a big developer and had started setting down plans to turn the whole place into a gentrified, luxury-condo'd space where they could make $$$ and garner prestige

a local activist group here, the Housing Justice League, started holding forums with neighborhood groups and residents in the areas surrounding Turner Field so they could all get together and organize, as a community, to combat the inevitable displacement that was coming. one of the tactics that they came up with was something called Tent City - an Occupy-style camp set up on a busy corner of Turner Field that would seek to educate drivers, other residents, and hopefully local media about the issues. by the time the camp was set up, they had come up with a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that they had presented to GSU which was getting no response

in local activist spaces, Tent City became a local meeting ground where we could all meet and talk shop and engage with local activist folks. people like Vincent Fort showed up, Atlanta Jobs with Justice held regular meetings there, HBCU activist groups would drop by en masse from time to time, and other folks coordinated getting food and supplies out to the City to keep it going

anyway, about a month into the thing, the people who were showing up regularly were exhausted. Mark Becker, GSU's president, had refused to make the CBA legally binding on any terms. additionally, by this time Kasim Reed had one of his cousins who lived in an adjacent gentrified area get together some neighborhood groups to pass themselves off as the rational, well-seeming, mostly white alternative to the black community members and leaders at Tent City. and, of course, these new members were immediately invited to the developer's offices to 'negotiate'

and in the midst of this exhaustion and public relations war who but fucking John Lewis shows up to Tent City with all of his aides to give the residents a pep talk in the middle of the day, under a baking sun

in the end, the occupation only lasted another week - not much can put a stop to greed and capitalism. but it's an amazing day to see a Civil Rights leader, long-standing House rep, accomplished author, and virtual celebrity recognize and lend support to real, on-the-ground causes that others would have dismissed off-handedly as a waste of time or were just plain unaware of

it blows my fucking mind that people worship men like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos when we have an actual saint still living in our midsts
posted by runt at 10:34 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]


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