So not many people are going to enjoy this particular blog but bear with me. I want to ask whoever is reading this blog one question.

WHO ON EARTH IS CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS???

I’m being dead serious about this. I ask this question because until a couple days ago I had no idea who this man was or what his relevance to my life was as well. As many people who do know him can imagine this is really awkward for me. As my fellow SAWIP group members, either stared in awe of this man or had even gone to the extent of reading his book and quoting it. All I could think of was who is this man and how is he relevant to me?

It’s a question that I have come to realize many South Africans as well as Americans would have a similar view or answer to. In fact millions of people across the world probably share the same view. I had never heard of the man until I entered SAWIP. So when heading into a meeting with a man many seem to consider as a legend, I was filled with a sort of anxiousness one gets when heading into the unknown. I knew that he was important but my mind couldn’t comprehend just how important he was.

As we waited patiently for him to enter the room an intern decided it would be best watching a video about the congressman’s life. That was probably the single worst thing he could have done to me at that point in time. He set up a 3^rd party image of a man I had not yet met which would completely set the benchmark for him. I must admit (and here’s the part people won’t like) while others where in awe I sat there perplexed wondering what was so amazing. He had moments of brilliance that I know I can definitely applaud, but in general a lot of what he said was . . . well . . . nothing new to me.

I’m being very candid about this because it is something that I am personally grappling with right now. I know I should be in awe of him, especially because of all the personal sacrifices he made but I can’t seem to draw it out of me. I can’t seem to put him on the pedestal of Walter Sisulu, Joe Slovo, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Suzman, Oliver Tambo, Albertina Sisulu, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko and the list can go on and on. As I was grappling with why I couldn’t put him on that pedestal I realized it was because I could not relate to him. I couldn’t realize that what he fought for was exactly what all my personal heroes fought for. Fighting for the chance to be equal in front of the law and society.

It made me wonder how many other people around the world fought for something quite similar and I don’t know about them. How many other people in the world were beaten to a bloody pulp that I don’t know about? So this blog is dedicated to all those who have ever stood up against an unjust system and haven’t been recognized. All those who have once given up their lives fighting for what they truly believe in and who’s sacrifices made this planet a better place. This blog is to remind all those reading it to acknowledge the sacrifices made by these people and celebrate their lives and contributions regardless of how big or how small it may be.

So for me the question still stands. Who is Congressman John Lewis? I’m not going to pretend to believe and he instrumentally changed the way I see the world. He still (even after meeting him) remains a person that I don’t seem to relate to. A person who I can’t say directly affected my life. A man, who has no sacred place in my heart. He remains solely in my mind as a freedom fighter in a land far from my own.

It’s that last part that I will probably take away from my meeting him. He remains a person who fought for freedom regardless of the peril that laded before him. I can respect those who are freedom fighters regardless of their country or origin. Because when you fight for what’s right, you deserve respect.

So who is Congressman John Lewis to me?

Not a legend, not a man of who has completely changed my life, not a man I would notice walking down the street, not a man who will make me gawk in his presence. Congressman Lewis me is a simple freedom fighter. The greatest breed of humans this planet will ever have.

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