EP 495: Jon Meacham Remembers Civil Rights Hero John Lewis

Pulitzer-winning historian Jon Meacham recalls his 30 year friendship with the late Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Meacham describes as an almost Biblical arc to John Lewis's life, and how Lewis’s Christian faith informed his activism. He describes the horrible day in Selma, Alabama known as "Bloody Sunday," and how Lewis remained steadfast and at peace even as state troopers beat him within an inch of his life on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He discusses his final conversation with John Lewis shortly before Lewis's death in July, and how the civil rights leader continued to preach the power of non-violent protest in the wake of recent attacks on black Americans. John Meacham also shares why he wanted his book about John Lewis to hit shelves before the 2020 election, what inspired him to endorse a Presidential candidate for the first time in his life, and what it was like to participate in a very different Democratic National Convention during the pandemic.

Order Jon Meacham's new book is His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope on Amazon, Audible or wherever books are sold. Subscribe to his podcast Hope Through History and follow him on Twitter at @jmeacham.