On Being Nice...

So, I'm currently reading Boom! Voices of the Sixties, by Tom Brokaw. Interesting book.

The reason I mention this is because I came across a quote that I feel compelled to share. It comes from John Lewis, who is a member of Congress from Georgia. Rep. Lewis has a long history in the civil rights movement, including having been the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1962 to 1966. He was also one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, participating in the attempt, in 1961, to break illegal segregation in interstate transportation accommodations in the South.

The US Supreme Court had ruled in 1946 that segregation on interstate public transportation was illegal because it violated the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. That case was Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia. Then, in 1960, the Court further ruled, in Boynton v. Virginia, that segregation was not only illegal on the modes of transportation itself, but in the terminal facilities as well, citing violation of the Interstate Commerce Act. Despite these rulings, transportation and associated facilities were still routinely segregated in the South.

I won't go any more deeply into the history of the civil rights movement right now, nor into the significance of the Freedom Riders to the history of the movement. I will say that it is all very interesting, and doesn't get talked about enough, and I certainly recommend learning more about those struggles in the early 1960s.

Anyway, during his interview with Brokaw for the book, Lewis said this:

"...we need to return to the tenets of nonviolence. It's not old-fashioned to be nice to each other."

I believe that this is a very important principle, especially in today's political climate. We really could use to be more excellent to one another.