Lewis is known and celebrated for his activism in the early 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, the youngest of the Big Six civil rights leaders that included figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lewis was also one of the leaders attacked on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965; images of his determination and sacrifice are readily available upon a simple search. The Georgia congressman is a fan of so-called “good trouble,” a phrase he has used in the past when encouraging young leaders to fight for the social change that the country so desperately needs. And perhaps Lewis is right to once again make the call for “good trouble,” considering that the state which he represents is wrapped up with serious allegations of voter suppression, particularly against people of color. Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office is in charge of elections and voter registration, has been accused of stalling some 53,000 voter registrations, 70 percent of which belong to black voters in a state that is only some 32 percent black. Additionally, another 107,000 people were removed from voting rolls in Georgia for conduct no more egregious than failing to vote in past elections under the state’s “use it or lose it” policy, a removal spearheaded by Kemp’s office. This is, of course, the same Brian Kemp running in a neck-and-neck gubernatorial race against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who could become the first black female governor in the history of the country. “I think there is a deliberate, systematic effort on the part of people in the state of Georgia to prevent some people from participating in the democratic process,” Lewis told the Orlando Sentinel last week. “It’s very frustrating to me,” he added. “It’s unreal.”I have been beaten, my skull fractured, and arrested more than forty times so that each and every person has the right to register and vote. Friends of my gave their lives. Do your part. Get out there and vote like you’ve never voted before. #vote #goodtrouble
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) October 22, 2018