Washington: US President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the Summit for Democracy on Thursday. During this, he named Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, referring to the work done by civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis. He said that John Lewis worked to bring to the fore democracy and civil rights around the world. For this, he took inspiration from Gandhi and Mandela.
Joe Baden said, ‘Democracy is not the same for all. We do not agree on everything, but the choices we are going to make today, in my way, are going to define the course of our shared future for generations to come.
He continued, “Congressman John Lewis was a great champion of American democracy and civil rights around the world. He learned and took inspiration from other great leaders like Gandhi and Mandela. Before saying goodbye to the world, he reminded our country that democracy is not a state, it is a way of doing things.
Biden said democracies have to stand up for the values that define ‘us’. “We have to stand up for free speech, free assembly and free press, freedom of religion, for justice and the rule of law, for the human rights inherent to every individual,” he said.
Lewis played several important roles in the civil rights movement and its actions to end legal racial segregation in the United States. He served in the US House of Representatives from 1987 to 2020. His death was due to cancer.
