March #4
Dear John Lewis,
When reading the closing section of your book we saw the final parts of the civil right movement and the perseverance you had to be able to accomplish your goals. In this section we see the nighttime march for James Orange after the rallying by C.T. Vivian which also ended in a deadly shooting. We also go to see your thoughts Malcolm X’s assassination and those of MLK. One of the most hopeful moments in your book is your meeting with Barack Obama, which bring the story full circle. We get to see a time where black people could not even vote and a transition to the first black president. This I like seeing that all the suffering was worth it.
Even through reaching this point in history shows so much progress. It is depressing that this was even a battle that had to be fought. The fact that so many black people were dehumanized and treated as second class citizens is awful and has no justification.
When reading the section where you cut ties with the SNCC in order to participating in the march I had many questions. Did you completely separate from the members? Or was it a one-time thing? Being a part of a group like SNCC is amazing and it must have been a hard decision.
Although look back over such depressing time can be sad, I am glad that I got to read this book and see the determination and resilience of black people during this time.
Morganlee Blake