All Rev'd Up: The Legacy Of John Lewis

Barack Obama, John Lewis — In this Feb. 15, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Lewis announced Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, that he has stage IV pancreatic cancer, vowing he will stay in office and fight the disease with the tenacity which he fought racial discrimination and other inequalities since the civil rights era.

Arjun Singh is a producer for Boston Public Radio. A California native, Arjun moved to Boston to study international relations at Boston University. Prior to working at WGBH, Arjun worked at a tech company and for a political campaign.

January 20, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

On Dec. 29, 2019, seventeen term congressman Rep. John Lewis announced that he is receiving treatment for stage four pancreatic cancer. The news elicited sympathetic responses from politicians of both parties, many of whom praised Lewis’ work during the Civil Rights Movement.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Reverends Irene Monroe and Emmett G. Price III joined Boston Public Radio to look back on Lewis’ career.

“When I think about John Lewis it pulls at my heartstrings because I’m praying for him,” Monroe said. “But he really gives us hope for a Democratic renewal here. A moral purpose here.”

Price added that he is grateful to Lewis for his tenacity in advocating for legislation that would eventually lead to the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“It took him 15 years to get that bill passed, and every year consistently he shared that bill, so that what we have now in this new national museum is actually a reflection of the resilience and dedication of Congressman John Lewis.”