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" We had teachers, we had high school principals, we had people teaching in colleges and university in Tuskegee, Alabama. But they were told they failed the so-called literacy test. "

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" 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. "

John Lewis

World

Rest

People

" There's nothing wrong with a little agitation for what's right or what's fair. "

" If someone had told me in 1963 that one day I would be in Congress, I would have said, 'You're crazy. You don't know what you're talking about.' "

" I believe race is too heavy a burden to carry into the 21st century. It's time to lay it down. We all came here in different ships, but now we're all in the same boat. "

" I travel all the time, but when I come back to the South, I see such progress. In a real sense, a great deal of the South has been redeemed. People feel freer, more complete, more whole, because of what happened in the movement. "

" I grew up very poor in rural Alabama. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I don't think Trump really believes in all this stuff. But he thinks this would be his ticket to the White House - at least to get the Republican nomination. "

" We should be creative, and we should accommodate the needs of every community to open up the democratic process. We should make it easy and accessible for every citizen to participate. "

" If you're not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up. You have to take the long hard look and just believe that if you're consistent, you will succeed. "

" I studied the philosophy and the discipline of non-violence in Nashville as a student. And I staged a sitting-in in the fall of 1959 and got arrested the first time in February 1960. "

" Following the teaching of Gandhi and Thoreau, Dr. King, it set me on a path. And I never looked back. "

John Lewis

Path

Never

" We come to Selma to be renewed. We come to be inspired. We come to be reminded that we must do the work that justice and equality calls us to do. "

" 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.' "

" I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people. "

" It's not just Barack Obama, but I doubt Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton would have made it to the White House without Selma. "

" We must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people, have centers where people can get the necessary help. "

" 1963, because of the sense of moral authority that the civil rights movement had, we were able to get people to respond, because of the quality of our demand and our sense of moral authority. "

" Sometimes I hear people saying, 'Nothing has changed.' Come and walk in my shoes. "

" You have to tell the whole truth, the good and the bad, maybe some things that are uncomfortable for some people. "

" I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders. "

" 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. "

" We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jails over and over again. And then you holler, 'Be patient.' How long can we be patient? "

" 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. "

" Never become bitter, and in the process, be happy and just go for it. "

John Lewis

Go For It

Happy

" Without prayer, without faith in the Almighty, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings. "

John Lewis

Prayer

Bird

" Dr. King was one of the most inspiring human beings I ever met. He was such a warm, compassionate, and loving human being. "

" I was honored to have an opportunity to speak on August 28th, 1963. "

" Black men and women were not allowed to register to vote. My own mother, my own father, my grandfather and my uncles and aunts could not register to vote because each time they attempted to register to vote, they were told they could not pass the literacy test. "