John Lewis -- my neighbor

Thirteen summers ago I was a volunteer in a program that gave shelter in the basement of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill to families experiencing temporary homelessness. Among our guests were a ten year old boy named Zach and his mother. One evening, another volunteer, my friend Elizabeth Becker, gave Zach a copy of a biography of Congressman John Lewis, written for young people. A few days later, my friend Susan Sedgewick suggested that it might be possible for us to take Zach to visit the Congressman. That seemed like a longshot but a sidewalk conversation with yet another St. Mark’s friend, Rob Hall, made it possible. Rob had contacts in John Lewis’s office.

The next thing I knew, Rob and I were in the Cannon building, meeting Lewis and he and Zach were deep in conversation. What I had thought would be a ten minute photo-op turned into an hour-long visit. John Lewis asked Zach what he was interested in and the two had a long chat about basketball. They talked about school and hard work and then went on a tour of the office.

It had occurred to me that I might use the occasion of this visit to tell Lewis about the book I was writing about Rosenwald schools. I knew he had attended one in Alabama and I had even thought I might ask him if he would write the introduction for me. But he was focused on Zach and I decided not to intrude on that.

When it came time for us to leave, we asked the congressman if he would sign Zach’s book, John Lewis in the Lead, A Story of the Civil Rights Movement. On the book’s first page Lewis wrote “Keep the Faith,” and signed his name. Later, over lunch, I asked Zach what he thought that meant. Keep the Faith. He paused a moment, then said, a bit tentatively, “Never give up?” Yes, I said. That’s it. Never give up.

In the years since that day I have had the good fortune to meet John Lewis several more times. In Atlanta on a civil rights field trip led by the late Julian Bond, I was able to talk to Lewis and to give him a copy of the book.

Three years ago I was privileged to host a dinner sponsored by Capitol Hill Village which featured Lewis as the speaker and guest of honor. And just last summer, I was part of a group that went to Lewis’s office to tell him about the project of creating a national historic site honoring Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald schools. Lewis was warm and friendly though clearly frail. He agreed to become a co-sponsor of the legislation that would authorize a special resource study of the projected park.

This morning, having just learned of Lewis’s death, I bumped into a neighbor who reminded me of the evening we had spent together with Lewis at my house. She said it had been memorable and special and it certainly was. For me, though, the memory of John Lewis I cherish most is of the meeting in his office and the generosity of spirit and the kindness he extended towards a young boy he had never met before and would, in all probability, never see again.

“Keep the Faith” and “Never Give Up” are words we all need to hear right now. I am so grateful to John Lewis for generously sharing himself with Zach and with all of us. The best way to honor his memory is to remember those wise words.