05/09/2026
John Lewis didn’t just talk about democracy — he bled for it.
He was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during Bloody Sunday in 1965 while fighting for Black Americans to have the right to vote. He risked his life so future generations could participate in free and fair elections without intimidation, suppression, or racial discrimination.
That fight led to the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Years later, after key protections of that law were weakened by the Supreme Court, Congress introduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore protections against voter suppression, racial gerrymandering, and discriminatory election laws. 
FACTS:
• The bill passed the U.S. House in 2021 by a vote of 219–212. 
• Every House Democrat voted YES.
• Every House Republican voted NO. 
• In the Senate, Republicans blocked the bill from advancing under the filibuster rule. 
• Senator Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican senator publicly supporting advancing the legislation at that time. 
The bill was designed to restore federal oversight in states with histories of voter discrimination and protect Americans from modern voter suppression tactics. 
Let’s be clear:
Voting rights are not a partisan game for Black Americans. People died for these rights.
People like John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Viola Liuzzo, and countless unnamed activists faced beatings, jail, terror, and murder because they believed every American deserved equal representation and a voice in democracy.
And now many Americans are watching modern voter suppression happen through gerrymandering, voter roll purges, polling place closures, and laws that disproportionately impact Black and marginalized communities.
John Lewis fought the good fight.
The question is whether America still has the courage to protect what he sacrificed for.
Never let people forget history or it will repeat itself!
