During his commencement speech on Saturday, U.S. Congressman John Lewis urged UC Davis Law school graduates to continue the fight for equality he started half a century ago alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
“Even before I got involved in the movement, I saw those signs that said: white men, colored men, white women, colored women,” Rep. Lewis said.
He was arrested and beaten almost to death in the 1960's. His peaceful resistance helped win voting rights for African Americans and end segregation. The representative from Georgia said we're a better nation than we were before the civil rights movement, but still with a long road ahead.
“In America there's so many people, men, women, children, people of all different backgrounds that are being discriminated against,” Lewis said.
Recent images of violence at a presidential candidate's rally and divisive rhetoric make Representative Lewis concerned for the future of the country.
“I know we hear from time to time that each election is the most important election of our lifetime but this one is the one,” Lewis said.
He endorses Hillary Clinton for president but believes it is everyone's duty to continue the progress leaders like him risked their lives for.
“We want to go forward, we don't want to go back, we don’t want to stand still,” Lewis said. “We want to move forward and continue to bring people together and not divide people.”