The congressman and civil rights icon spoke at the Bates College commencement in 2016, urging students to ‘be a headlight, not a taillight.’
U. S. Rep. John Lewis’ impact on Maine political leaders and young people alike was powerful.
One of the Legislature’s two Black members, Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, said Saturday he had been “grieving all day” over Lewis’ death. He called Lewis “a man of unparalleled stature, a saint, if there ever was one. His passing is a sad day for America.”
Lewis received an honorary degree at Bates College in Lewiston in 2016, and gave a commencement address in which he urged the 462 graduates to serve humanity. Bates was founded by abolitionists in 1855, and has been open to students of all racial backgrounds ever since.
In his speech, which brought several standing ovations, Lewis spoke of how Martin Luther King Jr.
