John Lewis: The Last Interview and Other Conversations

by John Lewis (Editor), Jelani Cobb (Introduction), Melville House (Editor)

Featuring interviews of civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis at almost every stage of his career, this collection illustrates why Lewis has become a human rights icon and remains an inspiration to activists today

Throughout John Lewis’s long and storied career he maintained a seemingly unwavering hope for a better future. This hope can be traced throughout the interviews collected here. From a young activist testifying in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday to recounting the violence he met as a Freedom Rider to an elder statesman inspired by today’s civil rights activists, this collection forms a portrait of a man whose life was spent fighting for a better world and never lost hope.

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Justice

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 23, 2021

About the author

John Robert Lewis was the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district, serving since 1987 and was the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. He was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), playing a key role in the struggle to end segregation. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was one of the most liberal legislators.

Barack Obama honoured Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and they marched hand in hand in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attack (March 7, 1965).

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains four interviews with John Lewis spanning 55 years (1965-2020) from the time he was a civil rights activist to his last interview when he was a U.S. Representative serving Georgia's 5th Congressional district.

The first interview in 1965 (Williams v. Wallace) was actually a deposition. Lewis was a plaintiff in the case. This interview is a good example of a primary source about the Selma March which according to Lewis was about voting rights and police brutality, that second objective I believe gets lost or downplayed when Selma is usually discussed.

The second interview took place in 1979 between Lewis and the documentarian/filmmaker Henry Hampton. It was while reading this interview that I came to the conclusion that Lewis's recollections of his involvement in the movement have mostly been consistent over time.

The third interview occurred in 2012, between Lewis and CSPAN's Brian Lamb for the show Q&A. Lewis was on the show promoting his book Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America. In it he recounts what he said during the Selma march, which mirrors what he said in the 1965 deposition (the first interview).

The fourth and Lewis's last interview occurred in 2020, 39 days before his passing with Zak Cheney-Rice from New York Magazine. In it, Lewis reflects on his legacy and the summer protests after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. I did notice echoes from the previous two interviews.

Overall, this short book is good but I wanted more context on the interviews. Why were these interviews picked, what's the significance of each one? I thought this would have been included in the book's introduction but it wasn't. Fans of John Lewis will enjoy reading his words. You will still learn some new facts even if you know alot about Lewis.

Thanks to NetGalley and Melville House for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on November 23, 2021.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How sadly ironic that this book releases the day after Georgia was gerrymandered to make the election of Blacks, women, and other underrepresented groups nearly impossible. It underscores the fact that the work of activists like John Lewis is never done.

This collection of interviews show the trajectory of John Lewis’s career, from a Civil Rights activist in college, to a long-term Congressman for Atlanta, still fighting for voting rights until his death.

This brief, quick read gives background for those who know only of John Lewis’s recent accomplishments, and whets the appetite for more reading. #JohnLewisTheLastInterview #NetGalley

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick collection of 4 interviews from John Lewis from when he was in his 20’s to right before he passed away in his 80’s. The interviews were well selected and provided a quick glimpse into his life and view at each time. As the interviews went on, you could see both through lines in his philosophy and as well as how his thoughts on certain events had changed. Hearing his direct perspective what influenced him and affected him throughout his life has and always will have a very strong impact.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Lewis: The Last Interview and Other Conversations Melville House 2021

Thank you, Net Galley and Melville House, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I have longed to know more about this remarkable man since seeing one of the MNSBC anecdotes about ‘who they are’ including commentary on John Lewis and his reference to ‘good trouble’. The footage includes reference to the march in Selma, Alabama when John Lewis, accompanied by black and white activists attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Until he died in 2020 John Lewis and supporters of his ideals rallied at the Bridge. John Lewis, Congressman, is shown at the Bridge and recalls John Lewis, student activist from the 1960s. The original footage from the carnage enacted upon the marchers was instrumental in influencing policy makers, culminating in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, enacted during President Lyndon Johnson’s Presidency.

Jelani Cobb, introduces the collection which includes Williams V. Wallace with the interaction between John Lewis, Peter Hall and others during the court case in March, 1965; interviews with Henry Hampton, America They Loved You Madly…, Brian Lamb, C-Span, and The Last Interview by Zac Cheney-Rice, June 2020; and John Lewis speeches, ‘I Saw All Around Me The System, ‘When I was Arrested and ‘I Felt Free’ and ‘The Long View’. There are useful notes about the authors.

I really enjoyed getting to know this formidable fighter for the cause of Black Americans, equality, and democracy. His attitudes towards the issues he supported and campaigned upon are made apparent through the selection chosen for this collection. John Lewis’s honesty in explaining why he voted for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries is a key to the way in which he observed the issues of friendship, politics, support for Black Americans and commitment to democracy. His ‘good trouble’ phrase resonates throughout the book. Crucial to his philosophy is that of non- violent demonstration against segregation and discrimination. John Lewis explains that his study and discipline in being non-violent ‘helped make me stronger, wiser, gave me a greater sense of determination’. When asked about observers’ response to the cruelty enacted on peaceful marchers John Lewis is so wonderfully optimistic about the goodness of people, their capacity to understand that such events should not be part of a democracy, that things will change for the better. He gives other people, such as Martin Luther King Jnr, James Lawson, ‘wonderful, wonderful colleagues, students, the young people…’ the credit for his resilience. This humility, and once again I must mention that splendid phrase ‘good trouble’, contributes to the power within the collection as well as the man.

The Last Interview and Other Conversations with John Lewis is particularly pertinent reading at this point in American political history. With states enacting discriminatory voting legislation, the Republican Senators refusing to support even the voting bill crafted between some of them and Senator Joe Manchin, and obtuse support of the state legislators whose only aim is to prevent voting equality this is an important read. The collection adds to understanding the challenges faced by student, organiser, friend, speechmaker, leader, and Congressman John Lewis. It also demonstrates the power that such a decent and thoughtful person can have in making at least some differences despite the obstacles. His followers have the opportunity to contribute to further change by endorsing legislation to protect voting rights. The publication and strength of this book is another contribution to effecting such change.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short collection of deposition testimony re the Selma marches and three interviews. Definitely worth reading.

Found these parts especially notable: After multiple attempts by an attorney to steer Lewis into testifying that a crowd of protesters appeared hostile, Lewis replies, "Well, on occasion I have seen law enforcement people who would stand like they are going to protect people, and they look quite peaceful, peaceable; but at the same time these people have beaten and brutalized people."

How his education informed his philosophy:

[Hegel] talked about the struggle between good and evil, that in society, if you are going to bring about change, there must be a struggle. And there must be a division between the forces of darkness and the forces of light, the forces of good and the forces of evil. And somehow, out of that evil and good, something wholesome must emerge. And in the final analysis, you got to move toward reconciliation.

Regarding the impact of his time (40 days) in Parchman State Penitentiary in Mississippi:

Parchman gave me time to reflect, gave me time to contemplate, gave me the sense that I'm like a tree planted by the rivers of waters and I shall not be moved. It gave me a greater sense of determination and stick-to-it-ness that when I got out, I was going to continue to do what I could to send segregation and racial discrimination in the American South.

After a question about the difference in outlook between Lewis and another prominent organizer of the era (Stokely Carmichael):

I think those of us who grew up in the heart of the Deep South, who came under the influence of Martin Luther King Jr. and individuals like Jim Lawson, who had a sort of baptism in the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence, we took the long, hard look. We believed that our struggle was not a struggle that lasts for a day or a few weeks or a few months or a semester. It was the struggle of a lifetime. And I said then, and I say it even today, that you have to pace yourself for the long, hard look, the long, hard struggle. And you have to come to that point and accept nonviolence as a way of life, as a way of living. Our struggle was not a struggle between Blacks and whites, not a struggle between people, but a struggle between what is right and what is wrong, what is good, and what is evil, between the forces of justice and the forces of injustice.

And continuing to that same question:

But those of us who accepted the philosophy of nonviolence as a way of life, as a way of living, we were saying in effect that means and ends are inseparable, that if you accept this idea that you're going to create the beloved community, if the beloved community is the end, if that is the goal, the methods, the means must be one of love, one of peace. And if you accept this idea that in the bosom of every creature, every human being, that there is this spark of what I call the divine, you don't have a right to abuse it. You respect the dignity and the worth of every person. And you--as Dr. King would say, hate, bitterness, is too heavy a burden to bear.

Many other interviews and writings are available and also this last essay published on the day of Lewis's funeral https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/op...

[Chuck McGrady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of conversations, interviews and even a deposition transcript of Lewis' deposition in a lawsuit following the boycotts and marches of the 1960's. Since these are Lewis' words, it evoked strong memories because John's work and mine intersected in the 1980's in Atlanta.

I first met his wife, Lillian, when I was a young attorney. I was the pro-bono lawyer for the Outdoor Activity Center, an inner city nature center, and Lillian was on the board. I was working on clean air issues at the time and invited John to speak with our volunteers. He was a strong supporter of efforts to protect the environment, and our initial relationship grew into a lot more. I engineered his endorsement by the Sierra Club in his race with Julian Bond. Bond was the favorite, but John forced a runoff and then won the Democratic nomination.

When elected, John, Bill Mankin (another Sierra Club volunteer) and I went to Washington, DC with him to pick out his office space and begin to get organized before he was sworn in. In the midst of all of that, I got married and John and Lillian were among the guests.

John's character was magnetic, and his philosophy and his personality comes through in this small book. Reading it, really reminded me of how much I miss him.

[Steve Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love learning more about John Lewis. However, this really felt more like a beginner lesson on John Lewis or almost life a cliff's notes version. It's great that the exact words of this honorable man and great leader are recorded for history. Read it if you want a little glimpse into civil rights leader John Lewis. Just don't expect to get very deep or learn a great deal more if you are already aware of the longtime congressman.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read /John Lewis: The Last Interview and Other Conversations/:

https://www.ddgbooks.com/book/9781612...

Though we have so far to go, I was amazed to learn (re-learn) that as recently as the 1960s, police regularly beat non-violent protesters, especially African-Americans. That gave me perspective.

[Kathleen Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

To see the progression of the interviews, from his testimony in a court transcript from 1965, during the Civil Rights protests in which he often found himself in jail, to an interview by New York Magazine a month before his death, by then known as "The Conscience of the U.S. Congress," is well worth a read.

[Olivia S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read, a good group of interviews from throughout his time. Really loved hearing more of his perspective, truly a model. He never really wavered in his beliefs, and I find that incredible.

[Nathan Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 interviews throughout John Lewis’s life

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read (and do) interviews. In this series of interviews John Lewis' compassion and courage shine through.

[Bobak Talé · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting interviews and insights, but didn’t provide much context to the readers

[Meleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the provided interviews and found a lot of what John Lewis shared is still relevant today.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Lewis is someone I've taken a great interest in as far as his interviews and discussions about the Civil Rights Movement. He was an incredible speaker and clearly knew what his goals were in life for himself and others in the movement. I enjoyed this collection of interviews over Lewis's lifetime... they gave me an inside look into how things have progressed or stalled and how Lewis was handling things within our current time. I think the layout of the book was perfect fo the goal they were trying to achieve.