John Lewis:
The Man, the Bridge, the Socialist Hero
The words of Tina Trent, a former liberal Democrat activist and former resident in John Lewis’s district...
While John Lewis spent the last fifty years growing rich and influential by repeating the same speech about being beat up on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965, the people living in the crime-ridden parts of his district have spent the fifty years since then being subjected daily to violent crimes and threats of crime at least as bad and frequently far worse than what Lewis experienced, day after day, week after week, year after year, decade after decade, unabated.
In his years in Congress, Lewis has done little for the district in southeast Atlanta he represents. For all his years in Congress, Lewis has opposed every piece of criminal justice or welfare reform legislation that would make the people of his district safer, more self-reliant, and more prosperous. I’d go farther. Nearly every time John Lewis has “acted” legislatively, life for the poorest in his district has become more dangerous, more destabilized, and more tragic.
John Lewis grew more rich and influential with each repetition of his Edmund Pettus Bridge speech, yet the people of his district watched the value of their homes, their communities, and their schools—their life’s work—disintegrate because of crime and multigenerational family dysfunction. There are no federal monuments to the crime victims of John Lewis’ district. These victims are barely acknowledged by Lewis
himself.273
In the arena of athletics, some have difficulty closing out the chapter of their years of glory. Some continue to rehash those years by spending hours looking at old films and fading news clips. It has been so with Rep. John Lewis, whose time of glory, i.e., “The Bridge,” came amid the civil rights era of the ’60s.
At the age of twelve, I marched with a busload of Florida A&M students in front of the White-only segregated Florida State Theater, expressing our opposition to Jim Crow racism. I remember racial epithets shouted at us from White drivers passing by and the ever-present tension due to the potential of violence. During this era, millions of Americans, Blacks, Whites, men, women, Christians, and Jews took part in this nation changing movement. They did so for racial equality, many adding their contributions away from cameras and microphones with no thought or desire for fame and fortune.
These were the true heroes of the civil rights era. Some would pay the ultimate sacrifice. Their efforts resulted in a paradigm shift in race relations and drove forward the passage of legislation that would grant equal opportunity to all. The effort included nameless FAMU college students in front of the Tallahassee Florida State Theater, hundreds of marchers walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and hundreds of thousands of diverse Americans in multiple ways doing what they could to move our nation forward. They stood courageously and non-violently in whichever venue was selected by civil rights leadership and, in the process, earned the respect of their fellow Americans, the votes of their politicians, and equal rights for the Black race. They continued building, knowing that their efforts, large and small, had made a difference for the future of our country. Never was there a thought by these everyday Americans that their efforts could potentially be used to catapult them into a life of personal wealth and fame. Never was there a consideration that their mid-1960s effort that resulted in progress, opportunities, and the tearing down of physical and emotional walls would be used for ideological divisiveness. Instead of highlighting an era of turning points and unified efforts that paid off dividends in race relations, it is a piece of history used by the Left and compliant Royalty Class Black elitists to inform those they have made hopeless, that “nothing has changed.”
How did the actions of these thousands of American heroes in 1965 differ from those of nineteen-year-old John Lewis? Simple. John Lewis had media face time, the remaining multitude did not—and had not sought. Like the old NFL receiver whose “catch” has been immortalized for all time, Lewis is able to review, relive, and share his past season of courageous acts. Simultaneously, he has worked in lockstep compliance to party policies and strategies to place impediments in the way of others who, if granted the opportunity, would like to experience their own monumental “catch.” For over three decades, John Lewis, as a member of the Royalty Class Congressional Black Caucus, has come to represent the empathy-free heart and soul of a select club of elitist Black politicians. Granted the opportunity to give voice and power to the urban powerless, instead they opt to ingratiate themselves with fame, fortune…and a fantastic retirement pension. As they’ve taken on the role of eternal professional politicians, their journey has taken them the humble urban communities they purportedly represented to a destination of wealth and hero-worshiping cable TV time.
As in the 1970s TV show The Jeffersons, they’ve “moved on up” and out of their poor neighborhoods, leaving behind those who, regardless of their chronic failure of leasdership,, can’t help but trust them. Unfortunately for these trusting poor urban Black Americans, the bridge of opportunity that granted Lewis an escape route from poverty was drawn behind him with a plethora of anti-Black policies. Welcomed with open arms by the White Democratic leadership, what is not expected of these Congressional Black Caucus members is courage, backbone, or independent critical thinking. Instead, demands are simple compliance and a creativity to toe the party line, regardless of the consequences (to their own race). In return, an enticing promise none of them have turned down: power, prestige, profit, pension, a great upper middle class lifestyle, a lifetime of government perks, all wrapped with a beautiful bow. They are granted lifetime Royalty Class treatment as mini kings and queens.
During his younger days, as he joined hundreds of others in the Selma March, John Lewis was respected for his courage. It was on this occasion that the racist White Democrat sheriff Bull Conner released his vicious police dogs and turned pressured fire hoses on the demonstrators. Unfortunately, since that time, Lewis has not found the same courage to stand for the poor constituents of his district against the Socialist/Marxist White leadership of his own Democratic party. He has, on the other hand, become powerful, wealthy, and famous as a facilitator of their destructive policies. This lack of willingness to stand for the powerless is a statistical fact. His party’s ideological policies have decimated every urban Black community throughout our country. It will be the legacy of thirty years of failure to address the increased Black misery and hopelessness of the poor and powerless that will eventually condemn John Lewis’s legacy of courage on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. History will, in time, expose his lifelong commitment to Socialist/Marxist polices as antithetical to Martin Luther King’s vision of freedom, racial harmony, and progress.
As we enter a new millennium, the fight for civil rights equality needs to continue to be a priority of nation. It is no longer the fight of the 1900s against physical barriers, denying access to jobs and opportunities based on the color of one’s skin. It is rather the right for equal access to quality education regardless of an individual’s zip code.
Vicious police dogs, pressured fire hoses, and the racist intimidation of the KKK guarded the 1960s Democratic Jim Crow barriers. This same culpable Democratic Party has made today’s barriers to poverty-breaking education impenetrable. Supported by the educational labor union, its politicians have, through their policies, facilitated rampant illiteracy and peddled brainwashing Marxist propaganda to every public school system they control. It is in the most populist state in the union, the Democratic-run state of California, where three-quarters of the population of Black boys are, due to progressive education, illiterate. It has been the same Democratic Party’s anti-Black policies that have condemned poor children within John Lewis’s district, strictly because of their zip codes, to wither in failing schools. His policy will lead to yet another generation of Black children denied the opportunity to break the poverty cycle. Every caring parent understands the life changing impact of education, and they desire it for their children; yes, even the poor and powerless. Indicative of a parent’s innate desire for their child’s best interest can be seen with the education options John Lewis proudly gave his own son. He was granted access to the best education taxpayer dollars could buy. He simply used the income of his job, granted to him by the voters of his 5th District, and moved to another zip code where quality education was guaranteed.
For the poor urban Black Americans who live in the 5th District, John Lewis’ thirty years of “Black leadership” is guaranteed not to grant them what they, with their taxes and votes, gave him and his son. Instead, for them will be a continuation of high unemployment and welfare among Black adults, a continuation of high incarceration rates of Black male teens, and a continuation of low Black entrepreneurship (3.8 percent). The percentage rate of Black men abandoning their own children (70 percent) will continue its national high rate, and his district will continue to lead all other Georgia counties in the abortion rates of Black babies.
When not busy reflecting on his glory days of the 1965 “march across the bridge,” Lewis seems willing to take the lead when his White Democratic leaders feel a need to stoke the emotions of racial divide. When a White Republican politician begins to get too much attention with alternative solutions from the status quo, i.e., school choice, lowering Black on Black crime, or unemployment, he is predictably among the first to utter the word “racist.” Noted is Lewis’s absence in the arena of debates where ideas and policies are put forth for scrutiny. Absent is any sense of accountability for the failure within the poor urban parts of his own District. Chronic anger, illiteracy, lawlessness, and hopelessness for a major portion of the citizenry who live in Atlanta’s 5th District should be a reflection of its leadership. For over three decades, that has resided in one person. John Lewis.
As we’re asked to revisit the march across the Selma bridge, now over sixty years ago, it’s important to remember the collective efforts of others. Forgotten by the Left are efforts of many thousands of selfless and courageous foot soldiers who, with non-violent restraint, fought against institutional racism and won. Because of the actions of these Americans of every color, religion, and creed, there is no longer a need for minority demands for access to lunch counters, movie theaters, and restaurants. With Black millionaires represented in every business sector of our society, we no longer must accept the false narrative of exclusion. Americans now, regardless of background, have been empowered by the efforts of hundreds of thousands during the 1960s to work, risk, invest, and to own. More important, the cornerstone of freedom was reinforced for every citizen: the opportunity to dream, to attempt, to fail, to man-up, to stand up, and to start anew if need be. No longer is there fear in our nation of rogue police releasing attack dogs or using fire hoses on innocent demonstrators. In positions of power throughout our country are Black police, Black sheriffs, Black mayors, and Black politicians who have been, for the most part, elected or appointed by non-Black Americans. These leaders have been put in positions to lead, delegate, direct, and dictate the success or failure of their organizations. If they fail to produce, as per the valued standard of meritocracy, they should be fired, the color of their skin inconsequential.
Annually, our nation comes together to commemorate the life and vision of an American hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. At one or more of these major celebrations, John Lewis will be scheduled as a keynote speaker. Unfortunately, he forgets to mention that due to the courageous and unselfish acts of thousands from our previous generation, over sixty years ago, we’ve won. Predictably, he will put on his most somber, angry face and shed a tear at the mention of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s name. It would be appropriate if those tears represented his empathy for the poor and suffering constituents in his district, but they do not.
John Lewis will not shed a tear for the 1,800 Black babies aborted every day, targeted by White abortionists, because for over thirty years he has supported them. It does not concern him that because of his policies since 1973 over twenty million Black babies have been killed, representing forty percent of today’s Black American population. He remains unfazed by the fact that Planned Parenthood places eighty percent of its abortion clinics nationwide in the Black community, or that under his watch most of Georgia’s abortion clinics are located within the two counties he represents, Fulton and DeKalb. These two counties account for seventy-nine percent of all abortions in Georgia.274
John Lewis will not shed a tear for the eighty-three percent of Black urban teen males nationwide who are chronically unemployed. It has, after all, been his Socialist/Marxist policies for the last thirty years that have guaranteed these results. As these Black teen males become rebellious, unemployable and/or incarcerated, they have no idea that their exalted Black Congressional leader has voted 100 percent for pro-union/anti-Black labor policies that purposely price low-skilled labors, like themselves, out of the job market. They will never know that it was he and his fellow Democratic Congressional Caucus members who have voted for “minimum wage” laws and prevailing wage mandates. As unskilled/low-skilled laborers, such policies guarantee their unemployment.
They’ll never know John Lewis has voted 100 percent with the labor union against poor urban Black children being granted freedom to leave failing unionized public schools. With lack of training of imperative critical thinking skills, they will never know it was his policies that have negated their opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
No, John Lewis will not shed a tear for today’s Black entrepreneur and independent contractors who, because of the Davis-Bacon Act, do not have the opportunity to bid on federal/state building contracts. This 1932 law, mockingly labeled the “Negro Removal Act,” was passed specifically to protect “White Only” labor unions from competitive Black entrepreneurs and laborers.275 It is the only law ever passed by our federal legislative body specifically targeting a minority race, and today, thanks to Black and White Democratic Socialist/Marxists, it remains the law of the land. The results over the decades have been billions of Federal tax dollars pouring into poor urban communities with legitimate Black-owned businesses barred from bidding on contracts and the absolute minimum number of Black laborers being employed. The result of this closed door to the trades travesty has been a nation-low percentage of Black entrepreneurs (3.8 percent), nation-high rate in Black unemployment, and the dollars granted to urban community projects, leaving the community immediately as White union laborers go home to spend in their own neighborhoods. Absent for decades has been the presence of Black entrepreneurs in positions to hire, train, inspire, mentor, and teach Capitalism. Thus, the Democratic controlled urban community has become the perfect environment for the planting of the seeds of Socialism, Marxism, and atheism.
John Lewis will not shed a tear as he brags to the rest of the nation about the prosperous downtown Atlanta community. Through the last decade of gentrification, this portion of his district has become a convenient oasis for upscale successful professions. Here they can purchase increasingly expensive property snuggled safely behind gated, police-patrolled communities with the best quality school systems the taxpayer dollar can buy. Deep down though, these Black professionals must know that the real reason their property values are rising is because the Feds and John Lewis continue to quietly ship the troubled families and crime-blighted projects out of their increasingly valuable real estate into neighboring Clayton County. A once-White, middle-class, stable rural community, Clayton County has devolved into a crime-ridden hellhole within just a few years of wholesale deportation. Out of sight, out of mind. What John Lewis has done is create a playground for hipsters of all races by shunting Atlanta’s social problems down to neighboring Clayton County.276
The Royalty Class Black professional politician John Lewis represents a segment of elitist Americans who enjoy the sweet savor of the American Dream, and then work to convince others that they are incapable of accomplishing the same. Poor Black Americans have suffered for generations under the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus. Not one urban community represented by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus has experienced an improvement in their standard of living, i.e., education, job opportunities, increase of entrepreneurs, decrease in crime rates, or child abandonment/abuse. Instead, every urban community represented by Black Socialist/Marxist legislators has in common the growth of Black misery: poverty, unemployment, distrust/disdain for law enforcement, and a decreasing love for God and country.
At the core of Capitalism is the concept of financial reward in return for adding value, whether it is tangible, intangible, a service, or a product. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have become very wealthy during their tenure of public service. Some, like Maxine Waters, John Lewis, and Elijah Cummings, have become multi-millionaires. They rent out their property in the poor and crime-ridden districts where they used to live and still represent. Meanwhile, their permanent residence is on the other side of town or in a different district, nestled within a plush, gated community and protected by armed security in integrated neighborhoods of the rich and famous. The question based one of the key pillars of Capitalism—that wealth creation is predicated on the value of the services rendered—begs to be asked: What product or service has the Congressional Black Caucus provided in exchange for their multi-million dollar homes and first class lifestyle? Since poor people are not in position to create wealth for others, is it possible it has been wealthy White Democratic Socialist/Marxists who represent the source of wealth for these formerly poor Black politicians?
The universal spiritual law called the Law of Seed and Harvest may provide an answer to the source of chronic urban failure. It states, “We reap what we sow.” A planted apple seed is only capable of germinating into an apple tree, nothing more, nothing less. This is a simple but undisputable truth. Given this, the harvest of misery within the urban community can only begin with the planting of misery seeds. In this case, the sowers are the sharecroppers responsible for planting and harvesting within the urban community for over sixty years, the Democratic Congressional Black Caucus. Their votes and policies have impacted the lives of millions of Black Americans. However, the genesis of power rests with those who can afford to purchase the seeds, pay for sharecroppers to plant them, and then wait a season for a return on their investment. The payoff for the owner of this plantation is profit, power, and prestige as the poor, hopeless, and dependent view them as political saviors and demigods and the source of their deliverance.
The success and wealth creation for the Royalty Black Class Politician is therefore not predicated on the improvements of the Black lives they represent, but on the amount of power they transfer to the White Socialist/Marxists who pay them.
Let’s look at the seeds of misery planted by John Lewis over the decades. Whether it is legislation on education, minimum wage, Davis-Bacon, or abortion, every vote by John Lewis over his thirty years as a Congressman has had one of two results: they have either added to the misery or, like his “Selma to Montgomery National Trail Study Act of 1989,” added no value at all to the lives of those at risk within his district.
Thirty-Four Years of Liberal Policies
The voting record of Rep. John Lewis, Representative for Georgia’s 5th District277
Voted YES on federal health coverage to abortion. (May 2011)
Voted YES to allow interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (April 2005)
Voted YES on partial-birth abortion with no exception (October 2003)
Voted YES for expanding abortion funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted NO to allow poor DC children education vouchers scholarships (March 2011)
Voted NO on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (November 2001)
Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools. (August 1998)
Voted NO on education vouchers for private and parochial schools. (November 1997)
Voted NO on establishing nationwide AMBER alert system for missing kids. (April 2003)
Voted NO on reducing Marriage Tax by three hundred ninety-nine billion dollars over ten years. (March 2001)
Voted YES to Davis-Bacon Act (February 2011)
Voted YES on increasing the minimum wage (2007)
Top pressing issues within the Urban Black community:
High Black adult unemployment (double that of national rate)
High Black teen male unemployment: 83 percent
Child abandonment by Black fathers: 70 percent
Child abuse
Targeting: Big Abortion Industry: 80 percent within Black communities
High Black on Black crime
High Black juvenile incarceration
High education failure, illiteracy and Black teen dropout
Lack of Black entrepreneurs: 3.8 percent
John Lewis’ bill sponsoring priority: Seventeen Congressional Bills during his thirty-four years in the Democratic House of Representatives278
H.R. 5067 (114th): Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016
H.R. 4488 (113th): Gold Medal Technical Corrections Act of 2014
H.R. 4994 (111th): Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010
H.R. 2040 (110th): Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Coin Act
H.R. 923 (110th): Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007
H.R. 3491 (108th): National Museum of African American History and Culture Act
H.R. 1616 (108th): Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land Exchange Act
H.R. 1933 (103rd): King Holiday and Service Act of 1994
H.R. 904 (102nd): African American History Landmark Theme Study Act
H.R. 3834 (101st): Selma to Montgomery National Trail Study Act of 1989
For John Lewis, the Man, the Bridge, the Socialist Hero, his public service to the poor urban Black community that has elected him for three decades to serve can best be summarized as: “Why work, why dream, why find solutions, why even care…when you’re paid more not to?”