During an interview on MSNBC on Saturday, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) stated that he thought the country had made more progress on race than it has, urged people to “teach the way of peace, the way of love, the philosophy, and the discipline of nonviolence,” and stated that the best thing people can do is vote on Election Day.
Lewis said, “What we’re watching around my country makes me very sad. I thought and felt that we had come much further along the way toward the feelings of what Dr. King and many of us called the beloved community. It is a sad time. It is a very dark hour for all Americans. And we must continue to teach the way of peace, the way of love, the philosophy, and the discipline of nonviolence, and never, ever give up on any of our brothers and sisters. We’re one people. We’re one family. We all live in the same house, not just the American house, but the world house. This is the only house that we have. If we cannot save this house for our children and their children, there will not be any place for any of us to live or to survive.”
He added, “I say to all Americans not to give up, not to get lost in the fear…but to keep the faith. And it’s going to work out. But we must help it in working out by doing good and being true to the cause of love, peace, and nonviolence.”
Lewis concluded, “At this moment, this junction in our struggle and in our history, I feel the most powerful thing that we can do is on Election Day, literally, run to the polls and vote like we’ve never voted before.”
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