When I Met John Lewis

On Friday night, Congressman John Lewis passed away after a six month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80.

I had the privilege of meeting Lewis in November 2008 shortly after Barack Obama was elected President. Of course, I had supported McCain and I wasn't amused when Lewis likened him to George Wallace during the campaign.

Lewis was making an appearance at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and to my good fortune had the opportunity to attend the lecture and challenged his assertion. Lewis was diplomatic in his reply and even referred to me as "my friend, my brother". He indicated that neither McCain nor Sarah Palin was racist or in favor of segregation. But he was disturbed by the "words and language that I saw and witnessed during another period in our history." These words would be said far more loudly with the ascension of Donald Trump.

But McCain felt Lewis unfairly maligned him and never forgave him for it. Mitt Romney might be more inclined towards forgiveness than McCain. But Lewis claiming his presidency would take America back to pre-Civil Rights days during the 2012 campaign must have been a hard, bitter pill for Romney to swallow.

Nevertheless, John Lewis made America a better place. In his capacity as Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis risked his life to desegregate lunch counters, integrate public transportation and exercise the right to vote and bore the scars of a skull fracture sustained on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, a bridge which ought to be renamed in his honor.

I am glad to have met John Lewis even if I didn't agree with everything he had to say. R.I.P.