Rep. John Lewis may have passed away in 2020, but his legacy has been carried into 2021 and will linger for centuries to come. Following in his footsteps, Washington, D.C. welcomes two new lawmakers from the congressman's home state, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. Sworn into office less than two weeks ago, the two are being thrust into the line of fire that Lewis once thrived under.
During their first month in office, both Warnock and Ossoff will work through an impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. In the wake of the Capitol Hill Riots, it still remains unlikely that the Senate will impeach Trump. However, Rep. Lewis reminds America that it has an obligation to impeach unjust and unfit public servants.
“Our nation is founded on the principle that we don’t have kings. We have presidents, and the Constitution is our compass. When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something," Rep. Lewis said in 2019 while on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“For some, this vote may be hard...We have a mission, and we have a mandate to be on the right side of history."
Carrying on Lewis's legacy does not end with an impeachment vote. It continues with carrying on the legacy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Shelby County v. Holder ruling of 2013 allowed voting regulations in certain areas to be changed without federal clearance. A piece of legislation named after Lewis that would restore portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by House in 2019. Now, it is up to Warnock, Ossoff and their colleagues to push the bill through the Senate.
Photo Credit: Getty Images