Friend of civil rights icon John Lewis reflects on importance of non-violence and forgiveness
Photo collection on loan to Union Presbyterian Seminary helps teach lessons to younger generations
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — As a close friend of the late Congressman John Lewis, Wade Burns has deep respect for the non-violent tactics that were used by brave men, such as Lewis and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to fight racist policies during the civil rights movement.
Even when injured during protests, Lewis would not fight back, and like other members of the movement, understood the importance of forgiveness during a time when racist whites often were cruel and unrepentant.
Lewis and others like him “came to an understanding that grace is something God gave you, so if you've been wounded in the worst ways, you can forgive the person who's not repentant,” Burns said. “Trust God to deal with justice. Forgive them, and you don't carry the burden, the shackles of bitterness, … and you take whatever strength you've got to try to overcome what was done to you.”
Burns visited Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte last month to chat informally with people taking part in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Young Adult Advocacy Conference (YAAC). Students, workshop leaders and others viewed an exhibit of photos collected by Burns and his wife, Susie. It shows Lewis and a host of other notable politicians and leaders during significant moments in history or as they casually interacted with members of the Burns family.
There’s a who’s who of famous figures, including King and separately, his wife Coretta Scott King; the Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Andrew Young, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and the Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, an activist and minister who participated in the Freedom Rides.
Images in the collection include protests as well as more tranquil moments. There’s Lewis lying injured in Good Samaritan Hospital in 1965; Lewis, King and others taking a break in 1965 during a march from Selma to Montgomery; Lewis and others with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office after the March on Washington in 1963; Lewis at the Burns’ wedding; Wade sharing a handshake with Abernathy; and Lewis and Burns on Capitol Hill.
The photo collection and discussion reflect Burns’ desire to convey the lessons of the civil rights movement during a time when so many people have not experienced what he refers to as the institutionalized unearned suffering that took place during segregation and slavery.
“We don't know what the experience was of being stolen, imprisoned and enslaved and treated as nobody and abused in the most incredible ways,” Burns said. And “Jim Crow in the South was almost as bad as slavery. They could still rape your wife or your daughter, kill your husband. … Not only are you treated like dirt, but the state supports it, the judges support it, the police ignore it.”
Burns, an architect by trade, was friends for many years with Lewis, an activist and politician who was known for getting into “good trouble.” Lewis served as the best man at Wade and Susie Burns’ wedding and wrote personal notes and descriptions for some of the items in the photo collection.
The collection includes, among others, a picture taken in the moments leading up to law enforcement attacking Lewis and other protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. On what became known as Bloody Sunday, “they cracked John’s skull,” yet “he never responded in anger,” Burns said.
Showing the brutality of the whites of that period — by getting it captured on film — was a key part of the activists’ tactics. “They knew that they would be close and cause a reaction,” Burns said. “They needed that” because it was part of getting the message out.
People like James Lawson taught the activists about “nonviolent direct action, what it was, how it could work,” Burns said, “but you have to not hate. As King said … you’ve got to love the hell OUT of them.”
The Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler, an associate professor at Union who’s also director of the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation, guided part of the discussion by asking Burns questions as YAAC participants listened.
In a piece on Union’s website, Sadler describes the collection as “a call to engage in a struggle that is bigger than any of us but worthy of all of us.”
The piece also notes that Burns has helped to continue the work of the civil rights leaders by sharing their stories with younger people.
Burns has “inspired countless others, including a plethora of young people at places like Montreat, to join the movement for justice,” Sadler wrote. “The exhibit is a challenge to all who view it to recognize that change comes from ordinary people standing up and working to overcome evil and injustice in this world as coworkers with God.”
The Young Adult Advocacy Conference, “Jesus and Justice,” was hosted by the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. The event, which concluded Oct. 20, included workshops, sermons, a gun violence vigil and other activities.
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