President Barack Obama gave the eulogy at John Lewis’s funeral, held at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday. During the first half of the 40-minute speech, the former president spoke emotionally about the life and career of the civil rights icon. But in the latter portion of the eulogy, Obama spoke to some of what is currently ailing America—specifically the unjust way peaceful protesters are being treated by the federal government and the ongoing voter suppression efforts by President Trump and Republicans.
Obama talked about an always evolving America and how heroes like John Lewis give new generations purpose to further righteous causes.
“You know, this country is a constant work in progress. We’re born with instructions to form a more perfect union. Explicit in those words is the idea that we’re imperfect. That what gives each new generation purpose is to take up the unfinished work of the last and carry it further than any might have thought possible… [Lewis] not only embraced that responsibility, but he made it his life’s work. Which isn’t bad for a ‘Boy from Troy,’” Obama said, referring to Lewis by the nickname given to him by Martin Luther King, Jr., when the two first met in 1958.
The former president connected Lewis’ knowledge of the fragility of progress to the current environment and scourge of police brutality.
Obama said Lewis “knew from his own life that progress is fragile, that we have to be vigilant against the darker currents of this country’s history. Of our own history. Where there are whirlpools of violence and hatred and despair that can always rise again.” He continued, “Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.”
Obama then torched the current president and Republicans for consistently casting doubt on the election process and overtly attempting to suppress voting nationwide.
“We may no longer have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the runup to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots, so people don’t get sick,” the former president said.
Obama also acknowledged that because today’s gathering was meant to honor Lewis’ life, some would frown upon any negative talk about today’s cultural and political environments. To that, the former president said Lewis wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I know this is a celebration of John’s life. There are some who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. But that’s why I’m talking about it. John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we’re seeing circulate right now. He knew that every single one of us has a God-given power and that the faith of this democracy depends on how we use it. That democracy isn’t automatic. It has to be nurtured. It has to be tended to. We have to work at it. It’s hard,” Obama said.
The former president continued, “And so he knew that it depends on whether we summoned a measure, just a measure of John’s moral courage to question what’s right and what’s wrong. And call things as they are. He said that as long as he had a breath in his body, he would do everything he could to preserve this democracy and as long as we have breath in our bodies, we had to continue his cause.”
The former president connected Lewis’ knowledge of the fragility of progress to the current environment and scourge of police brutality.
Obama said Lewis “knew from his own life that progress is fragile, that we have to be vigilant against the darker currents of this country’s history. Of our own history. Where there are whirlpools of violence and hatred and despair that can always rise again.” He continued, “Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.”
Obama then torched the current president and Republicans for consistently casting doubt on the election process and overtly attempting to suppress voting nationwide.
“We may no longer have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the runup to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots, so people don’t get sick,” the former president said.
Obama also acknowledged that because today’s gathering was meant to honor Lewis’ life, some would frown upon any negative talk about today’s cultural and political environments. To that, the former president said Lewis wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I know this is a celebration of John’s life. There are some who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. But that’s why I’m talking about it. John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we’re seeing circulate right now. He knew that every single one of us has a God-given power and that the faith of this democracy depends on how we use it. That democracy isn’t automatic. It has to be nurtured. It has to be tended to. We have to work at it. It’s hard,” Obama said.
The former president continued, “And so he knew that it depends on whether we summoned a measure, just a measure of John’s moral courage to question what’s right and what’s wrong. And call things as they are. He said that as long as he had a breath in his body, he would do everything he could to preserve this democracy and as long as we have breath in our bodies, we had to continue his cause.”
The former president also talked about personal responsibility and the need for people not to be cynical, saying, “We can’t treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy, and like John, we have to give it all we have.”
Obama wrapped his stirring speech by focusing on what Lewis embodied in his lifetime, as opposed to what the current administration embodies: “Not by sowing hatred and division but by spreading love and truth.”
“That’s what John Lewis teaches us,” Obama said. “That’s where real courage comes from, not from turning on each other, but by turning towards one another. Not by sowing hatred and division but by spreading love and truth. Not by avoiding our responsibilities to create a better America and a better world, but by embracing those responsibilities with joy and perseverance and discovering that, in our beloved community, we do not walk alone.”
He concluded, “What a gift John Lewis was. We are all so lucky to have had him walk with us for a while and show us the way. God bless you all. God bless America. God bless this gentle soul who pulled it closer to its promise. Thank you very much.”
Obama talked about an always evolving America and how heroes like John Lewis give new generations purpose to further righteous causes.
“You know, this country is a constant work in progress. We’re born with instructions to form a more perfect union. Explicit in those words is the idea that we’re imperfect. That what gives each new generation purpose is to take up the unfinished work of the last and carry it further than any might have thought possible… [Lewis] not only embraced that responsibility, but he made it his life’s work. Which isn’t bad for a ‘Boy from Troy,’” Obama said, referring to Lewis by the nickname given to him by Martin Luther King, Jr., when the two first met in 1958.
The former president connected Lewis’ knowledge of the fragility of progress to the current environment and scourge of police brutality.
Obama said Lewis “knew from his own life that progress is fragile, that we have to be vigilant against the darker currents of this country’s history. Of our own history. Where there are whirlpools of violence and hatred and despair that can always rise again.” He continued, “Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.”
Obama then torched the current president and Republicans for consistently casting doubt on the election process and overtly attempting to suppress voting nationwide.
“We may no longer have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the runup to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots, so people don’t get sick,” the former president said.
Obama also acknowledged that because today’s gathering was meant to honor Lewis’ life, some would frown upon any negative talk about today’s cultural and political environments. To that, the former president said Lewis wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I know this is a celebration of John’s life. There are some who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. But that’s why I’m talking about it. John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we’re seeing circulate right now. He knew that every single one of us has a God-given power and that the faith of this democracy depends on how we use it. That democracy isn’t automatic. It has to be nurtured. It has to be tended to. We have to work at it. It’s hard,” Obama said.
The former president continued, “And so he knew that it depends on whether we summoned a measure, just a measure of John’s moral courage to question what’s right and what’s wrong. And call things as they are. He said that as long as he had a breath in his body, he would do everything he could to preserve this democracy and as long as we have breath in our bodies, we had to continue his cause.”
The former president connected Lewis’ knowledge of the fragility of progress to the current environment and scourge of police brutality.
Obama said Lewis “knew from his own life that progress is fragile, that we have to be vigilant against the darker currents of this country’s history. Of our own history. Where there are whirlpools of violence and hatred and despair that can always rise again.” He continued, “Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.”
Obama then torched the current president and Republicans for consistently casting doubt on the election process and overtly attempting to suppress voting nationwide.
“We may no longer have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the runup to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots, so people don’t get sick,” the former president said.
Obama also acknowledged that because today’s gathering was meant to honor Lewis’ life, some would frown upon any negative talk about today’s cultural and political environments. To that, the former president said Lewis wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I know this is a celebration of John’s life. There are some who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. But that’s why I’m talking about it. John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we’re seeing circulate right now. He knew that every single one of us has a God-given power and that the faith of this democracy depends on how we use it. That democracy isn’t automatic. It has to be nurtured. It has to be tended to. We have to work at it. It’s hard,” Obama said.
The former president continued, “And so he knew that it depends on whether we summoned a measure, just a measure of John’s moral courage to question what’s right and what’s wrong. And call things as they are. He said that as long as he had a breath in his body, he would do everything he could to preserve this democracy and as long as we have breath in our bodies, we had to continue his cause.”
The former president also talked about personal responsibility and the need for people not to be cynical, saying, “We can’t treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy, and like John, we have to give it all we have.”
Obama wrapped his stirring speech by focusing on what Lewis embodied in his lifetime, as opposed to what the current administration embodies: “Not by sowing hatred and division but by spreading love and truth.”
“That’s what John Lewis teaches us,” Obama said. “That’s where real courage comes from, not from turning on each other, but by turning towards one another. Not by sowing hatred and division but by spreading love and truth. Not by avoiding our responsibilities to create a better America and a better world, but by embracing those responsibilities with joy and perseverance and discovering that, in our beloved community, we do not walk alone.”
He concluded, “What a gift John Lewis was. We are all so lucky to have had him walk with us for a while and show us the way. God bless you all. God bless America. God bless this gentle soul who pulled it closer to its promise. Thank you very much.”
