Supporting the Legacy of Congressman John Lewis

Christian Democratic Caucus Executive Director Rev. Mark J. Powell, M.Div., (D-IN) announced today his urging of Indiana’s two Republican U.S. senators to support the Rev. John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2020. Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Senate companion legislation to the already passed House Bill today. 

According to Senator Leahy’s Senatorial website it stated, “Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday led 47 other senators in introducing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bipartisan bill to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act, end the scourge of minority voter suppression, and help preserve the legacy of John Lewis – one of America’s greatest civil rights heroes.”

Rev. Powell stated, “Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy said the following Congressman John Lewis, “John called voting ‘the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.’ He was right. And that’s why we cannot stand idly by while states engage in flagrant suppression schemes to take this tool away from marginalized communities.” 

Pastor Powell continued, “The Christian Democratic Caucus strongly supports the legacy of an ordained minister of the Gospel who served the people of the United States in the U. S. House of Representatives since being first elected in 1986, Congressman John Lewis spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the day Dr. King said to the echoes of history, “I Have a Dream”. He stood on the truck bed the night Senator Robert F. Kennedy informed Indianapolis that Dr. King was shot and killed by an assassin’s bullet, Kennedy said, ‘ What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.’ I urge Senators Young and Braun join their 48 colleagues in calling on Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) to allow a vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”

The Christian Democratic Caucus (CDC) serving the Democratic Party was formed in January 2020 to assist Pastor Powell’s Indiana Congressional campaign. CDC is an exciting new political movement in the Democratic Party for the common good of every person regardless of their faith or no faith, race, sexual orientation or economic class.