Joshua Varela
Ms. Alfred
ELA 10 Honors
17 March 2023
The Prophet of the People
On August 28th, 1963, a quarter of a million people participated in the March on Washington to fight for the injustices faced by African Americans who totaled around 11% of America’s population. Along with many others, the March on Washington was organized and led by John Lewis who advocated for civil rights. Six decades later, with the passing of John Lewis, America is still in the same internal turmoil with problems such as voting rights and police brutality. Former president of the United States Barack Obama delivered his eulogy on July 30th, 2020. Not only was Obama a close friend of Lewis, but Obama declared that he would not have become the first African American
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When Obama is speaks about how Lewis was proud of the young activists who led the George Floyd protests, Obama asserts, “…he could not have been prouder to see this new generation of activists standing up for freedom and equality; a new generation that was intent on voting and protecting the right to vote; in some cases, a new generation running for political office” (Obama 6). This reveals that John Lewis was grateful of the people, who had not lived through the civil rights movement, confronting the social issues and discriminatory acts of the law. He emphasizes this belief by repeating the phrase “new generation” to call out to the audience, who are mostly of a generation past Lewis’ generation, to keep on promoting the ideas of social justice. Lewis and Obama believe in a generation that will succeed the works of John Lewis; they believe in a world that fosters a new generation of “John Lewises" who will fight for egalitarianism. John Lewis spent the entirety of his life fighting for impartial treatment for all American people, even addressing housing problems and poverty during his speech in the March on Washington; Lewis observing those who had never lived through the Civil Rights movement is a “passing of the torch” so to speak. Even through the mournful death of John Lewis, Obama hopes that the nation would become the place that Lewis had envisioned six decades ago by having this new generation continue on fighting. Obama reinforces this by speaking straight from the thoughts of John Lewis. After Obama declares how innate Lewis’ kindness and respect towards everyone was and how if the American citizens can be like John Lewis if they persevere, Obama remarks, “He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity for great coverage, that in all of us there is a longing to do what’s right, that in all of us there is a willingness to love