Civil Rights Leader and Congressman John Lewis (February 21, 1940 - July 17, 2020)
“Good Trouble Lives On”
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver Velez
This is a reminder that actions will be taking place across the nation on Thursday, July 17th, the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis joining the ancestors.
Find an event near you!
Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we’ll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.
Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, "Good Trouble" is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. That’s why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities across the country will take to the streets, courthouses, and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.
Spread the word:
x
We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations.
On July 17th, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities are mobilizing to ensure #GoodTroubleLivesOn and carry John Lewis’ legacy forward.
➡️Find a good trouble event: social.demcast.com/s/65nTti3j
[image or embed]
— Union of Concerned Scientists (@ucs.org) July 10, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I’ve collected a series of biographies and interviews here today, for folks who might need a refresher course on his history.
Join us for an inspiring conversation with the late civil rights icon and politician John Lewis. In this interview, John Lewis shares his journey from segregated rural Alabama to becoming a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He discusses his first meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his involvement in the Freedom Rides, and his philosophy of "good trouble." Lewis also reflects on the Poor People's Campaign, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, and the enduring struggle for equality and justice. This interview is a part of Life Stories Learning, making it a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about Lewis's unwavering commitment to nonviolence and his vision for a united America.
John Robert Lewis was elected to Congress in 1986, serving in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. He held several leadership positions in the House, including Senior Chief Deputy Whip, and was a member of the House Ways and Committee as well as the Congressional Black Caucus. He earned degrees from the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University. He began his career as a civil rights organizer in 1960 during the Nashville sit-in movement and as a Freedom Rider. He helped plan the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and rose to national prominence after he and Hosea Williams led the 1965 Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, where he and other peaceful protestors were attacked and beaten on the Edmund Pettis bridge. His commitment to civil rights and social justice has been the hallmark of his career, and he has received multiple national and international awards for his work, including the John F. Kennedy “Profile in Courage” award, and a National Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2010. He wrote multiple best-selling books and continued his work in Congress as a human and civil rights advocate until he passed away on July 17, 2020 at the age of 80.
Get In The Way is a PBS Documentary, which I’ve linked to, with its preview here:
An historian’s perspective:
Darryl C. Murphy, host of The Common, sat down for a conversation with historian David Greenberg about “John Lewis: A Life,” the first definitive biography of the Civil Rights icon who would become second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. In the book, Greenberg traces Lewis’ life through the post-Civil Rights years and reveals the little-known story of his political ascent first locally in Atlanta, and then as a member of Congress. There he would earn respect on both sides of the aisle for the sacrifices he made on behalf of nonviolent integration in the South and come to be known as the “conscience of the Congress.”
For those of you who have, or work with youngsters:
A poster to download:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Memphis’ Minority Women Enterprise program contributed to Memphis being the only city in the country where women own more small businesses than men. News one: Memphis Ends Minority Women Enterprise Program Because Of DEI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While much has been said about the Trump administration’s assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), there have been equally regressive moves within state governments across America. As a result of Tennessee’s DEI ban going into effect this month, Memphis’ Minority Women Enterprise program was quietly shuttered this week.
According to WMC Memphis, the Minority Women Enterprise Program promoted and encouraged government spending at businesses owned by Black and non-white women. The program quietly ended on Monday due to the state legislature passing the Dismantling DEI Departments Act. I tried going to the Minority Women Enterprise Program’s website for more information on the assistance it provided, but the link now redirects to Memphis’s Office of Contract Compliance.
The Dismantling DEI Departments Act was sponsored by Tennessee House Republican Aron Maberry, who said, “DEI programs, while claiming to support inclusion, often create division and inequality. Dismantling them is a meaningful step toward a more united, merit-based future, and I’m proud to lead this effort for the Volunteer State.”
I’m just saying, the only division I’ve seen is white folks crying over Black people not facing the roadblocks historically in their way when starting a business, seeking an education, and generally just trying to survive in America.
Shelby County Commissioner Britney Thornton expressed concern that ending Memphis’ Minority Women Enterprise Program will have negative consequences for a city with such a large Black population.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since the Trump administration started cracking down on DEI programs at the start of this year, many companies have scrambled to either dismantle or obscure their DEI programs. But former gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia Stacey Abrams has a word of warning for corporations changing their policies to placate a new political order: It won’t stop here.
“This notion that simply complying a little bit stops at the water’s edge is antithetical to every history we have ever written, and it costs you,” she said on a panel at NYU School of Law on July 11. Abrams now runs America Pride Rises, an organization dedicated to defending and expanding DEI. “It may not cost you in the short term, but in the long term.”
Abrams argues that the companies who have previously made DEI commitments, only to reverse them a few years later, will end up isolating certain groups in the process. These companies are “not operating in silos,” she added, because consumers are paying attention. That includes federal contractors who have been ordered by President Trump to do away with their DEI policies, or lose out on the government’s business.
“I’m also less sympathetic to multi-billion dollar corporations that are concerned about losing a few contracts when they’re willing to sacrifice whole communities for that purpose,” said Abrams.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Fort Pierce home where Zora Neale Hurston spent her final years will soon be transformed into a visitor and education center, preserving her legacy for future generations. News One: Zora Neale Hurston’s Final Home To Become Cultural Landmark In Fort Pierce
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The last home of literary icon Zora Neale Hurston is getting a new chapter. Once at risk of being lost to development or demolition, the modest Fort Pierce, Florida, residence where Hurston spent her final years has been saved and is now on track to become a site of public remembrance and education thanks to The Conservation Fund. According to a press release issued by the nonprofit on June 30, The Conservation Fund stepped in to purchase the property just before it hit the open market. Now, plans are underway to transfer the home to the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation (ZNHFEF), which will restore the building and transform it into a cultural and educational hub.
The foundation is actively raising funds to support the purchase and renovation of the home. Once restored, the site will serve as a cornerstone of the Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, a community-driven initiative honoring the places and spaces that shaped Hurston’s life and legacy in Fort Pierce.
“Zora Neale Hurston’s final home deserves to be part of her enduring legacy,” said Marvin Hobson, president of the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation, in the press release. “A home is a place of safety and refuge. As a writer in a male-dominated industry who worked during Jim Crow America, it’s easy to imagine the peace and comfort that Zora would have sought at her Fort Pierce home. We’re honored to partner with The Conservation Fund to ensure this property honors one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Humanitarians in Sudan, where a two-year civil war has given rise to the world’s most acute needs and made assistance increasingly difficult, warn that a vacuum left by cuts to U.S. funding for aid programs cannot be filled.
The civil war between the country’s army and a paramilitary group has displaced 11 million people internally and 4 million more are refugees in other countries. It’s the only place in the world where famine conditions have been confirmed in multiple locations, and the United Nations says 30 million Sudanese require assistance -- or 60% of the country’s population.
The U.S. shuttered its arm for foreign assistance at the beginning of July, formerly the U.S. Agency for International Development, folding it under the State Department in a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio said marked the end of an “era of government-sanctioned inefficiency.” And the U.S. Senate could vote on legislation proposed by the Trump Administration as soon as this week to claw back over $8 billion in funding due to be dispersed for USAID in the remainder of the fiscal year.
“Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time limited,” Rubio wrote on Substack, adding the U.S. “will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brazil has elected its first Black woman to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, founded in 1897 and modelled on the Académie Française.
Ana Maria Gonçalves, 54, is one of Brazil’s most acclaimed contemporary authors, and her election on Thursday is being widely celebrated by writers, activists, literary scholars and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Her most famous work, Um defeito de cor (A Colour Defect) is still untranslated into English. It is a 950-page historical novel that she describes as “the history of Brazil told from the point of view of a Black woman”.
Recently selected as the greatest work of Brazilian literature of the 21st century so far by the newspaper Folha de S Paulo, the book achieved the rare combination of both critical and popular success, with more than 180,000 copies sold since its release in 2006.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More than a century after its troops burned villages and looted cultural artefacts in the quest to include Niger in its west African colonial portfolio, France has signalled willingness over possible restitution, but is yet to acknowledge responsibility.
“France remains open to bilateral dialogue with the Nigerien authorities, as well as to any collaboration concerning provenance research or patrimonial cooperation,” the office of France’s permanent representative to the UN wrote in a document seen by the Guardian.
The 19 June response was given to a letter dated two months earlier from a UN special rapporteur working on a complaint by four Nigerien communities representing descendants of victims of the 1899 Mission Afrique Centrale (MAC), one of the most violent colonial campaigns in Africa.
“Although France was aware of the atrocities at the time, no MAC officer has ever been held responsible for these crimes … France has not conducted any official inquiry or acknowledged the horrors inflicted on the communities affected,” wrote Bernard Duhaime, a professor of international law at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the UN special rapporteur working on the case.
In 1899, French officers led by the captains Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine marched tirailleurs – as the African soldiers under their command were known – through communities in present-day Niger. They killed thousands of unarmed people and looted supplies, terrorising local people into compliance. The next year, Niger became officially absorbed into French west Africa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
