His Truth Is Marching On

It is disgraceful what this country has put the Africa American community through and not just during the 60s. Even to this day we are still fighting the racism that was first birth with this country. We fought a civil war, we passed amendments to our Constitution, enacted laws too protect voter rights but most of all people have given their lives for this great cause. John Lewis was a man driven by his beliefs and convictions. The terrible treatment that he and others had to endure is not only hard to read about it is also hard to realize that it is still going on and yet it is right in front of us each and everyday.
Before reading this book I knew a little about Mr. Lewis because of his relationship with MLK Jr but not as much as I should have which this book clearly remedies. I wish this book could be read by everyone; of course, the problem is that those who should read about the struggle, hardships and violence that he and those around him endured will mostly likely not be read by those that need to read it.
I came away from this book with a much better understanding of the time period, the struggle and the man. I have to admit I would have given up many times and moved some where else. What Mr. Lewis went through clearly showed that he was a strong man with great convictions and moral authority. We are all less without him.

This is what I needed to read right now in this time of racial turmoil. Meacham’s ability to discuss Lewis’s faith intertwined with an obvious deep understanding of scripture is straight forward and non preachy. This is the first time I have had a sense of peace in months and remembering the wonderful people in the early movement felt like spending time with old friends…friends I shed blood with in the 60s. I still believe in the Beloved Community and it was nice to spend the time remembering why we fought for it.

His Truth Is Marching on: John Lewis and the Power of Hope is the new release by Jon Meacham. I always look forward to any book written by Jon Meacham, but this one was difficult to read with the recent passing of Congressman John Lewis. We all know of John Lewis from his time in Congress, as well as that horrific day in Selma known as Bloody Sunday. However, most people do not know the true life of John Lewis…those moments in his life that were not a headline on the news. Jon Meacham gives us those moments throughout the pages of this book…from the humble beginnings as a child to the years of activism…John Meacham eloquently tells the story of a true icon and American hero.

This is a book rich in history, and one that everyone should read. John Lewis lead by example, and fought every day of his life for what he believed in. He has never let anyone or anything stop his voice from being heard. This books shows how far we have come as a country, but it also shows how much more work needs to be done in order for us to achieve the one thing John Lewis fought for his entire life…equal rights for every single person.

John Lewis once said, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” These are simple but yet extremely powerful words we should all live by, especially when so much injustice continues to happen every day.

I would like to thank Jon Meacham, Random House Publishing Group-Random House and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an advance reader copy of this book. My views are my own, and are in no way influenced by anyone else.

The recently deceased congressman John Lewis has been a public light to the United States for over fifty years. Nicknamed the conscience of Congress, he courageously campaigned for civil rights since a college student in Nashville. The author Jon Meacham, surely one of Americas greatest biographers, writes this history of Lewis doings in the 1960s. With extreme acuity, gravity, and imagery, he captures what the civil rights movement resembled on the inside. In so doing, he memorializes Lewis in a way that proudly continues Lewis unique legacy.

I can compare reading the early chapters of this book to only one life experience a tour of the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. I was emotionally overwhelmed and captivated by the national struggle to love all races. Meachams research and writing so excels that he makes us see the world through Lewis eyes. And of course, Lewis vision of the world, captured in Dr. Kings phrase the beloved community, was and is one that ought to be held onto.

Lewis and others had to endure much to receive their just place in American culture. Regardless of ones politics, ethnicity, or nationality, this story needs to be retold again and again. Lewis particular tale is one of courage, suffering, and eventual triumph. He famously even had his skull cracked by police in Selma, Alabama, as a testimony that black lives count for something. A photograph of him seeing recent Black Lives Matter protests precedes an afterword in the book by Lewis himself.

The main weakness of this book lies in its brevity. It only recounts about a decade of drama in Lewis life. I am left wanting to know this great human more. I am left wanting to learn about how he implemented his vision in one of the most difficult of all places the United States Congress. I am left wanting to hear about his gentility as he transformed from a civil-rights soldier to dignified leader, much in the way that Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower have. Lewis greatness is not restricted to reactions to his skin color in the 1960s American South; it spans to his universal vision for the world. Meacham leaves us with an epilogue that describes such again, I want more.

In an age of partisanship and vacuous national leadership, I hope that many read this work. Its not inspiring. Its tragic and sad, even disheartening. How can fellow human beings treat each other so poorly? This work corrects such prejudices and expresses deep determination to fight for whats right and good and, dare I say, holy in this world. In the process of reading, it made me examine my own conscience and place in this world. Like all good expressions of the human spirit, it leaves me just wanting more.

a wonderful book on a remarkable man John Lewis rest in peace,done another masterpiece from John Meacham one of many books I must own that he wrote

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