HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS BIRTHDAY

This past Saturday February 21, marked what would have been the 86th birthday of the great Congressman John Lewis, one of the most fearless warriors for voting rights in American history.

Born to Alabama sharecroppers in 1940, Lewis was inspired as a boy by the words of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at 23 years old, was a keynote speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, led the 1964 Freedom Summer voter registration drive in Mississippi, and on March 7, 1965, marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where he was brutally beaten by state troopers on what became known as Bloody Sunday. That march galvanized the nation and led directly to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

John Lewis spent 33 years in Congress as the 'conscience of Congress,' fighting for voting rights until his last breath. He would have been heartbroken, but not surprised, by the SAVE Act's passage. He faced down police batons for the right that they're now trying to take away with a bill. The best way we can honor his legacy is to protect what he tirelessly fought for.

In his honor, we ask every reader to take two minutes to do the following:

• Check your voter registration status through the Florida Department of State or call 850-245-6200. The next Florida voter registration deadline is April 1, 2026, for the August primary.

• Verify your registration address is current — if you have recently moved, updated your name, or changed your address, update your registration now.

• Gather your documents — in light of the SAVE Act threat, locate your passport or birth certificate and keep them accessible. 

• Share this newsletter with at least 3 people in your circle and ask them to check their registration too.