Trump Fails History Lesson from Heroic Life of John Lewis

As America collectively mourns the death of beloved Congressman John R. Lewis, I cannot easily forgive or forget the blatant disrespect shown to the civil rights icon by racist-in-chief Donald Trump.

The most recent slap down occurred when Trump tweeted a perfunctory and woefully hollow statement on the passing of Rep. Lewis.

One would expect any U.S. president to rise to the occasion with dignity by offering praise and appreciation for all Lewis had accomplished for his country in effectuating civil rights and racial justice for the greater good.

But that was too much to ask of a serial liar and raging narcissist like Trump, who doesn’t hide his utter contempt for minorities and women on one hand, while basking in his retrograde affinity for the white supremacy of the Confederacy on the other.

Trump remained silent for hours after the death of Lewis was publicly announced, even though countless patriotic citizens nationwide — including lawmakers from across party lines — expressed their adulation for the man respectfully known in the nation’s capital as the “Conscience of the Congress.”

Breaking Trump’s silence may have resulted from painstaking arm twisting by the First Lady and/or any White House staffer with a scintilla of decency.

Trump was finally persuaded to show the faintest sign of leadership by tweeting the following:

“Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.” — Trump Tweet.

In hindsight, it’s astounding that Trump was able to barely acknowledge the passing of the courageous Georgia congressman, especially considering the infamous tweets made by the president-elect on the morning of January 14, 2017 (during the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend), after Lewis effectively made the case during an NBC News interview that Trump’s election was illegitimate for several notable reasons.

The bold public pronouncement by Lewis was more than enough to provoke the following Twitter tirade by Trump:

As if those troubling tweets weren’t enough to quench Trump’s insatiable racist ranting, he followed up about 12-hours later with the following:

Trump’s hazardous habit of weaponizing Twitter as his personal bully pulpit is nothing new, particularly in response to any public criticism which might damage his fragile ego.

The fact that Trump had the unmitigated gall to allude to John Lewis as being incompetent, ineffective and useless to his constituency is beyond insulting to African Americans and all Americans — whom the president purports to represent.

Rather than rage tweeting, Trump could have learned a valuable history lesson from Lewis about the meaning of true leadership and courage during tumultuous times.

Bloody Sunday

John Lewis put his physical and mental well-being in jeopardy time and time again during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The memories of March 7, 1965 are seared into the history books regarding the horrific violence that was unleashed on Lewis — who sustained a fractured skull — and his fellow protesters by Alabama state troopers. That was the price Lewis paid for attempting to exercise his First Amendment free speech rights to march for another basic right inherent to any democratic form of government: the right to vote freely and without suppression.

The sadistic scene in which Lewis was badly beaten and clubbed in the head became known as Bloody Sunday.

Later that evening, several television networks interrupted their regularly scheduled programming to inform the public of the chilling carnage that had occurred earlier that day in Selma, Alabama. Interestingly, The ABC Sunday Night Movie that week was Judgment at Nuremberg. How ironic.

Public outrage was immediate with education foundations, religious organizations, politicians, and private citizens from all walks of life flooding the White House with letters and telegrams to urge, and in some cases demand, that Congress move to ensure that American “Negroes” (the term commonly used in 1965) would not be disenfranchised.

The right to vote is scared for all citizens. No one should ever be excluded from utilizing the basic tools of democracy simply because of their race or skin color.

Political Apartheid

Intense public pressure culminated in Congress passing the Voting Rights Act that was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965. That fact is, had it not been for civil rights champions like John Lewis, it would have taken much longer for Blacks, particularly in the South, to gain protections for their voting rights.

It’s likely that millions of Black Americans would have continued to live under a system of detestable, political apartheid, had it not been for Lewis and other civil rights giants, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK)

Lewis, MLK, and many others who marched with them, embodied an undeniable and unmistakable level of courage, determination and dignity that made it possible for future generations to enjoy specific liberties that some of us take for granted.

The majority of Black people alive today, including me, were not even born when Lewis and other civil rights leaders were singing, praying, marching, planning, sacrificing, and putting their lives and livelihoods in jeopardy to ensure that so many others who were politically, socially and economically disenfranchised could exercise a fundamental right that was supposed to be guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Therefore, as we honor the life and legacy of John Lewis, let’s also remember his fellow civil rights warriors like MLK, Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy, Juanita Abernathy, C. Delores Tucker, Hosea Williams, C.T. Vivian, Amelia Boynton Robinson, and so many others

For Trump to have referred to John Lewis as “all talk and no action” was a callous, despicable and reprehensible act.

Final Thoughts

Trump’s ongoing racial trash talk on Twitter does a grave disservice to the memory of John Lewis, not to mention other civil rights warriors who endured horrific levels of:

Wanton violence, routine death threats and cattle prods,
Foreclosure of property and poll taxes,
Oppressive sharecropping systems,
Entrenched legal discrimination, and
Numerous other forms of inhuman indignities on a daily basis due to race and skin color.

Rather than dismissing Lewis, Trump could have learned from him and others who forfeited so much, albeit without sacrificing their pride and principles. This is in stark contrast to Trump, who has engaged in discriminatory policy and practices, including racist and xenophobic vitriol, not only during his presidency but throughout his life.

History will recall the life of John Lewis for his courage and heroism, whereas Trump will be remembered for his cowardice and hooliganism.

In fact, Trump is the antithesis of everything John Lewis represented. To wit:

Lewis was kind, whereas Trump is cruel.
Lewis was humble, whereas Trump is pompous.
Lewis helped others, whereas Trump only helps himself.
Lewis fought for equality, whereas Trump fosters bigotry.
Lewis was always moral, whereas Trump is insidiously immoral.
Lewis was called “the Conscience of the Congress,” whereas Trump’s words and actions are flat out unconscionable.
Lewis fought for equal justice with tactical bravery, whereas Trump perpetuates injustice by discrimination and fear tactics.
Lewis was a soldier for freedom and equality, whereas Trump is tyrannical and often embraces autocracy.
Lewis united people of goodwill, whereas Trump divides Americans with recklessly malicious intent.
Lewis was a friend of the people, whereas Trump’s best friend is himself.

And the list goes on and on…

In essence, John Lewis was a towering American hero.

Lewis was a larger-than-life leader from whom Trump could have learned valuable lessons of history to help him solidly steer America through the storm of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the associated economic and social upheaval.

Whereas the life and legacy of John Lewis was a historic success, the tyranny and tribalism of Trump is a historic failure.

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Previously published on medium.com and is republished here under permission.
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