John Lewis’ civil rights legacy helped shape a nation. He cared about climate change and the environment too.
I awoke to the news that Congressman John Lewis died. He died at a time when people are actually complaining about “violation of freedoms” because experts recommend wearing face masks to protect their health. I cannot help but to juxtapose those complaints against a man who endured beatings and brutality for my right to simply live equally in this country. John Lewis stands firmly with some of the great Americans in history. However, I suspect many of you didn’t learn about him in a K-12 U. S. History class. Much of African-American history has been truncated or omitted in the history books. I was compelled to use this platform to honor Congressman Lewis. Lewis tirelessly fought, bled and sacrificed for civil rights, the downtrodden, and those without a voice. He also understood the importance of the environment and climate change. Herein, I reflect on that part of his legacy.
Yes, I know. John Lewis may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think about the environment or climate change. However, his body of work shows that he understood the significance of environmental issues and climate change. On his Congressional website, he said, “Humanity is the most important endangered species under threat from climate change and yet we flood our ecology with poisons and pollution.” The League of Conservation Voters documents his environmental voting record and gave him a lifetime score of 92%.
