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" Sometimes I feel like crying, tears of happiness, tears of joy, to see the distance we've come and the progress we've made. "
John Lewis
Progress
Happiness
Joy
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" When I was a student, I studied philosophy and religion. I talked about being patient. Some people say I was too hopeful, too optimistic, but you have to be optimistic just in keeping with the philosophy of non-violence. "
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" Following the teaching of Gandhi and Thoreau, Dr. King, it set me on a path. And I never looked back. "
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" You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right. "
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" People come up to me in airports, they walk into the office, and they say, 'I'm going to cry; I'm going to pass out.' And I say, 'Please don't pass out; I'm not a doctor.' "
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" We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against. And it doesn't matter whether they are black or white, Latino, Asian or Native American, whether they are straight or gay, Muslim, Christian, or Jews. "
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People
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" I believe that you see something that you want to get done, you cannot give up, and you cannot give in. "
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" You have to tell the whole truth, the good and the bad, maybe some things that are uncomfortable for some people. "
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" The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. made me very, very sad, and I mourned and I cried like many of our citizens did. "
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Me
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" I was so inspired by Dr. King that in 1956, with some of my brothers and sisters and first cousins - I was only 16 years old - we went down to the public library trying to check out some books, and we were told by the librarian that the library was for whites only and not for colors. It was a public library. "
John Lewis
Trying
Old
Library
" I remember back in the 1960s - late '50s, really - reading a comic book called 'Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Story.' Fourteen pages. It sold for 10 cents. And this little book inspired me to attend non-violence workshops, to study about Gandhi, about Thoreau, to study Martin Luther King, Jr., to study civil disobedience. "
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Remember
Book
King
" My parents told me in the very beginning as a young child when I raised the question about segregation and racial discrimination, they told me not to get in the way, not to get in trouble, not to make any noise. "
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Beginning
Child
Trouble
" When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something. "
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See
Say
Speak
" Many young people, many children, are being abused, being put down, being bullied because of their sexual orientation. "
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Children
Young
People
" Obama is not an African American president, but a president of all Americans. It doesn't matter if you are black, white, Hispanic, he's the president of all races. "
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You
American
Hispanic
" We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters. "
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Forward
Continue
Brothers
" It's not just Barack Obama, but I doubt Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton would have made it to the White House without Selma. "
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Doubt
Just
White
" I think my whole life has been one of sort of daring, and sort of sailing against the wind instead of just going with the wind. "
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Think
Wind
Life
" My mother and father and many of my relatives had been sharecroppers. "
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Father
Been
Relatives
" You have to be persistent. "
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Persistent
You
" What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and its grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible. "
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Love
Community
You
" There may be some difficulties, some interruptions, but as a nation and as a people, we are going to build a truly multiracial, democratic society that maybe can emerge as a model for the rest of the world. "
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World
Rest
People
" Selma was the turning point. "
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Turning Point
Turning
Point
" 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. "
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People
White
America
" Listening to Dr. King on the radio inspired me. Coming under the influence of Jim Lawson inspired me to think that I, too, could do something. "
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Influence
Think
King
" When I was growing up in rural Alabama, it was impossible for me to register to vote. I didn't become a registered voter until I moved to Tennessee, to Nashville, as a student. "
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Me
Vote
Become
" The vote is precious. It's almost sacred, so go out and vote like you never voted before. "
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Go
You
Vote
" Now we have black and white elected officials working together. Today, we have gone beyond just passing laws. Now we have to create a sense that we are one community, one family. Really, we are the American family. "
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Family
Community
Working Together
" MLK, Jr. taught me how to say no to segregation, and I can hear him saying now... when you straighten up your back, no man can ride you. He said stand up straight and say no to racial discrimination. "
John Lewis
Saying
Me
Man
" I don't understand it, how President Johnson can send troops to Vietnam and cannot send troops to Selma, Alabama, to protect people whose only desire is to register to vote. "
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Desire
Only
People
" The government, both state and federal, has a duty to be reasonable and accommodating. "
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Government
State
Duty