Rest in power John Lewis

Chickens are very good listeners. My friend’s chickens tend to clock me because I feed them. My car is my afternoon office, and apparently I keep office hours with a flock of chickens. They tilt their heads as if to comprehend what I’m saying, before I resort to their clucky language. The idea of John preaching to the chickens is an endearing and enduring image. Chickens are far smarter than we tend to think.

“John loved to tell the chicks the Good News. When he fed and watered them, he spoke about the value of hard work and patience. He would tell them, ‘Enjoy this day that God has given us.’” A leitmotif for us all.

"Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."

He spilled his blood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, served in Parchman Prison, rode with the Freedom Riders in the summer of 1961, and served in Congress for more than 30 years, so each and every single American can exercise their civic duty. —Rusty Hicks, California Democratic Party

‪“You must find a way to get in the way. ‬You must find a way to get into good trouble. Necessary trouble.‬ You have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate to go out and seek justice for all. ‬You can do it. You must do it.”‬ ‪- John Lewis ‬

As John Lewis*, the great civil rights hero who passed away on Friday, said last month near where Trump and Attorney General William Barr had set federal police in riot gear and wielding tear gas on peaceful protesters, “Mr President, the American people … have a right to protest. You cannot stop the people with all of the forces that you may have at your command.” —Robert Reich

I’ll never forget the day he staged a sit-in on the Senate floor. This man who walked with King. Who led us all in the good fight. A man who fought for equality with his last breath. I am proud to have been a chicken in his flock. Rest in power John Lewis and thank you for all your service. Walk with the Wind.

See Brainpickings’ endearing tribute to Preaching to the Chickens, a story about a young John Lewis.

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