A review by lesserjoke
Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America by John Lewis

4.0

In this 2012* publication, author John Lewis shares the guiding principles that he has found particularly effective in his work as a Freedom Rider in the Civil Rights Era and later a progressive Representative in the US Congress. The idea is to provide a framework for future activists, and although that prescriptive approach can sometimes seem a 'kids these days' complaint about people doing things differently than he has, it's overall a helpful and inspiring account. Even while quibbling with some of the writer's claims -- is faith in a higher power really necessary for a justice movement? -- it's hard to come away from the book without a feeling of respect and gratitude for his accomplishments here and elsewhere.

*I read the 2017 edition, which includes a few references that clearly postdate the original, like the Obergefell v. Hodges court case, the Women's March, and Dr. David Dao getting forcibly dragged off his overbooked United flight. Yet the text has not always been updated accordingly, with the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture for instance still being described as opening soon. I can't speak to what all has been changed or not between the two versions.

[Content warning for racist violence.]

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