Castor Statement on Passing of Rep. John Lewis

“John Lewis devoted his life to justice and freedom in America. He encouraged us to live our highest ideals, achieve racial equality and guarantee the right to vote for all.

“John was truly the ‘conscience of the Congress’ and led House Democrats in a sit in on the Floor of the House of Representatives following the Pulse Nightclub shooting. There was never a fight for justice, fairness and equality that John was not at the helm of. He dedicated his life to ensuring our nation’s founding ideals -equality, fairness and freedom- were available to all Americans.

“What a joy to be with him and so many of my neighbors on a visit to St. Pete four years ago. John Lewis was generous in his praise for prize winning journalists who spoke out against the Klan, segregation and the brutal violence that marked that time. Even to these who bore the scars of the battle, John reminded them and all there that their “race is still being run” and they needed to continue “ finding a way to get in the way.”

“I was honored to join Rep. Lewis in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he’d marched so many years before with great uncertainty of what lie ahead. He never gave up on what he believed to be the ideals of America, and leaves behind a generation of young Americans to take up his fight. We are all better for the life’s work and good trouble of John, and he will be sorely missed.

“John Lewis loved America. He loved it even though he felt “the first fist against flesh on the Freedom Ride” at Rock Hill; despite the scars he bore from a fractured skull at Selma; and, through the many times America has not lived up to its creed as he served so well Washington. He was a gentle and humble man. It’s been the honor of my life to call him a friend and colleague.

“We will not see his like again. so we all must channel his faith and amazing courage to continue his work and make an America more worthy of such love.”