John Lewis: A Legacy Unmatched

Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way. John Lewis did:https://t.co/KbVfYt5CeQ

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 18, 2020

Farewell, sir.

You did, indeed, fight the good fight and get into a lot of good trouble.

You served God and humanity well.
Thank you.
Take your rest. #JohnLewis pic.twitter.com/U1cPEwfCGO

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 18, 2020

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"How long can we be patient? We want our freedom now."

Rest in power, John Lewis ✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/lx5nOHsCeD

— African American Policy Forum (@AAPolicyForum) July 18, 2020

https://t.co/XPFsWuGmFJ pic.twitter.com/z6HMNH53w2

— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) July 18, 2020

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When I visited Uncle John last week, I looked in his eyes and said, “Well done.”

I told him that I loved him and that we are going to continue to fight.

So I must mourn and move at the same time.#JohnLewis pic.twitter.com/v6VxL48vgw

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 18, 2020

Vivian. Lowery. Lewis. Young.
👑👑👑👑 pic.twitter.com/aJyz9ML6FE

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 17, 2020

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#CTVivian and #JohnLewis have journeyed on together.

Two great vessels for the work of justice, including for voting rights for Black people in America.

It’s not happenstance that, in this critical hour, with so much on the line in November, their lives are lifted high. pic.twitter.com/LsW7Ol0eXL

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 18, 2020

Lowery
Vivian
Young
Shuttlesworth pic.twitter.com/1GRVnTYd1I

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 17, 2020

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“We were beaten, we were tear gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and someway, God Almighty helped me here.”

This would be the last time John Lewis would visit the Edmund Pettus Bridge, 55 years after Bloody Sunday pic.twitter.com/BXqHyO0CQl

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 18, 2020

https://twitter.com/ira/status/1284336818490466304

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I’m finding myself in the deepest gratitude that John Lewis and CT Vivian got the chance to become elders. To pass on the wisdom. To pray for us. Grow us. Lead us.

They chose freedom work that easily shortens one’s life. And we got to keep them for a while. What a blessing.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

John Lewis could have been martyred that Bloody Sunday. Rev. Vivian could have been murdered at those sit ins.

God spared them long enough for them to keep fighting and to teach us how to fight.

I’m awe struck by the privilege to walk this earth at the same time as them.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

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My heart is heavy, but I am resolute.

They tread paths we get to walk.
What an awesome privilege.
What an awesome responsibility.

John Lewis. CT Vivian.
Giants who walked among us.

And we get to walk in their footsteps.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

I say we get to, because liberation work is as much a privilege as it is a duty.

So many didn’t live long enough to see themselves worthy of being free, let alone struggle for it to become real.

Walk upright, family. As they did. As they want us to. No matter the strife.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

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There is nothing we can’t over come.

I don’t care who beats us back. I don’t care who snatched progress. I don’t care how hard they try to wrestle freedom from our hands.

Freedom is ours. Justice is divine.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

We will win.

— brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) July 18, 2020

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https://twitter.com/BridgetMarie/status/1284335406000070657

Elders, now ancestors. Hallelujah. pic.twitter.com/ze53PFMTuh

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 18, 2020

America: A Violently Racist Country

A 15-year-old black girl did not do her remote schoolwork _in a pandemic_ and a judge ruled she violated probation, called her a “threat to (the) community,” and sent her to juvenile detention https://t.co/ZJ1MJm2ow7

— adam harris (@AdamHSays) July 14, 2020

From Clemency To The Dean’s List

Obama granted Danielle Metz clemency in 2016. Out of prison, she made the dean's list.

This week, Obama wrote her: "I am so proud of you, and am confident that your example will have a positive impact for others who are looking for a second chance."https://t.co/ylh0mevTwO

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 13, 2019

Yes He Did

Don't believe the haters: Barack Obama. Got. Shit. Done. pic.twitter.com/LniRGbLjaF

— Mic (@mic) February 19, 2017

673 And Counting. Thanks, President Obama

.@POTUS commuted the sentences of 111 largely nonviolent drug offenders—35 of which were serving life sentences: https://t.co/sTHkwyYhua

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) August 30, 2016

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Carrie Johnson: Obama Grants Clemency To 111 Prisoners; DOJ ‘Confident’ It Will Clear Backlog

President Obama shortened the prison sentences of 111 inmates Tuesday, including 35 people who had expected to spend the rest of their lives in federal custody, authorities told NPR. Word of the new batch of clemency grants came as the second in command at the Justice Department told NPR that lawyers there have worked through an enormous backlog of drug cases and, despite doubts from prisoner advocates, they will be able to consider each of the thousands of applications from drug criminals before Obama leaves office in 2017.

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[CHART CORRECTION] @POTUS just commuted 111 people, bringing the total to more than the past 10 presidents combined. pic.twitter.com/bBDAUzLBXt

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) August 30, 2016

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“At our current pace, we are confident that we will be able to review and make a recommendation to the president on every single drug petition we currently have,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said. The early releases apply to mostly nonviolent drug offenders who would have received lighter punishments if they committed the same crimes today. The new commutations mean this White House has granted 673 commutations, more than the past 10 presidents combined. Tuesday’s grants follow 214 more earlier this month.

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More here

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This White House has now granted 673 commutations, more than the past 10 presidents combined. https://t.co/Sam8jqjWVD

— NPR (@NPR) August 30, 2016

.@POTUS cannot do it alone. Congress must act to enact a fairer federal sentencing system: https://t.co/eNv6u25429 pic.twitter.com/J4cL84Yjyc

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) August 30, 2016

Chat Away

With transfer of 15 detainees, the population of Guantanamo is now 61, down from 242 in '08. https://t.co/uJcjAujWTP pic.twitter.com/OeYeZMX3zF

— Obama NSC- Archived (@NSC44) August 17, 2016

‘A Nation Of Second Chances’

Breaking: @POTUS just granted clemency to 58 men and women who have earned a second chance: https://t.co/Dl2oXBCOHj pic.twitter.com/wmS5RxCM67

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) May 5, 2016

President Obama: Changing All Lives For The Better

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Alan Pyke: Why The Obama Administration Wants To Pay For Prisoners To Go To School

“My professor, Miss Jamie Mullaney, she cried the last day of class. And it made me cry,” Terrell Johnson said, sitting across from Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Loretta Lynch at Maryland Correctional Institute-Jessup on Friday morning. “I’m in a place where it’s not good to cry,” said Johnson, who’s in the middle of a prison sentence for selling drugs. “But I didn’t care. I felt like this lady genuinely cares if I get this education. That made me wanna try even harder, because I don’t want to let her down.” Mullaney, the head of Goucher College’s sociology department, wasn’t there to hear Johnson recount how his coursework in the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) has changed him.

The Goucher program these men participate in is funded entirely through money the school has raised itself. No state or federal education dollars provide GPEP books, teachers, tutors, and work materials. The program’s costs — about $5,000 per student per year, a sliver of what it costs to incarcerate an adult for 12 months at Jessup — have come entirely from private sources who believe in what professors like Mullaney and renowned historian Jean Harvey Baker and their 70 uniformed, caged students are doing here and at a neighboring women’s facility. But under the pilot program Lynch and Duncan unveiled Friday, partnerships like GPEP will be able to apply for Pell Grant funding. “The cost-benefit of this doesn’t take a math genius to figure out,” Duncan said. “We lock folks up here, $35,000, $40,000 every single year. A Pell Grant is less than $6,000 each year.”

More here

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Why the Obama administration wants to pay for prisoners to go to school https://t.co/i5hc4ZkRMt pic.twitter.com/DchiTIgcKQ

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) January 1, 2016

A Tweet Or Two

"Kids who don't always look like us or don't live in the same neighborhood as us, they're just as precious" —@POTUS https://t.co/HB9JfXOrTK

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) October 21, 2015

.@POTUS on investing in treatment vs. incarceration to help solve the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. https://t.co/L4EZXukUzE

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) October 21, 2015

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President Barack Obama vetoes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The president vetoed the sweeping $612 billion defense policy bill, citing objections over how the measure is funded

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MORE: Obama vetoes sweeping defense bill, insists on new version that doesn't tie his hands on his priorities: https://t.co/3DeNO7PJdc

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 22, 2015

Obama defends Black Lives Matter movement, saying it draws attention to 'legitimate issue': https://t.co/NQWzTYAFVt

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 22, 2015

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A truly amazing picture

Vice President Biden reviews his remarks with President Obama yesterday before his announcement. pic.twitter.com/2GjCol5p8g

— petesouza (archived) (@PeteSouza44) October 22, 2015

Dallas Morning News: "Texas should stop fighting and start complying with" the Clean Power Plan. Well said. https://t.co/8F8YtQIj6t

— Brian Deese NARA (@Deese44) October 22, 2015

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The First Lady and @KingJames have a message for the Class of 2020: Dream BIG! The world #BetterMakeRoom for you. pic.twitter.com/DKXKVJguPT

— First Lady- Archived (@FLOTUS44) October 22, 2015

The Prince will join @FLOTUS and @DrBiden meeting servicemen in Fort Belvoir undertaking recovery and rehabilitation pic.twitter.com/xkV5kwORZJ

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 22, 2015

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Check out @FLOTUS & @KingJames championing higher ed through #bettermakeroom https://t.co/RL07fGVjzT

— P. Aniskoff (NARA) (@PAniskoff44) October 22, 2015

Prince Harry will visit Virginia and Washington USA on 28 October in support of @InvictusOrlando 2016 pic.twitter.com/eJWNWZ6mnd

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 22, 2015

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U.S. existing home sales surge 4.7% in September https://t.co/UQovVGuHC2 pic.twitter.com/TWMqyWbNNc

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 22, 2015

Obama pushes Congress to give Puerto Rico sweeping powers to reduce its $73 billion debt burden through bankruptcy https://t.co/pAwitUJ1w8

— Bloomberg (@business) October 22, 2015

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President Obama to veto defense policy bill; this marks @POTUS' 5th veto since taking office https://t.co/6HDdrY4fYA pic.twitter.com/8I31aWx7Vu

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 22, 2015

Supporters rally behind St. Louis congregations hit by arson https://t.co/74WcT8nnKg

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) October 22, 2015

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Florida Black Caucus calls for independent investigation into #CoreyJones death https://t.co/Dm3T63tdpY pic.twitter.com/uAdeYD8MGQ

— Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) October 22, 2015

The cop who killed Corey Jones didn’t have his badge on him at the time of the shooting. So how was Jones to know? https://t.co/XN2dS9MnTm

— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) October 22, 2015

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A Tweet Or Two

We love our First Family. pic.twitter.com/dPFzr4nQQM

— EBONY MAGAZINE (@EBONY) October 5, 2015

President Obama will meet with Oregon shooting victims' families http://t.co/uVle8cxlQs

— TIME (@TIME) October 6, 2015

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President Obama's trade deal =
More #MadeInAmerica exports abroad.
More higher-paying jobs here at home. #TPP https://t.co/9GxPOPUoUU

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) October 6, 2015

Watch how President Obama's trade deal puts American workers (and American cherries) on top: http://t.co/RCNK0hAHFnhttps://t.co/9GxPOQbZMs

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) October 6, 2015

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Good. Disgusting racist scumbags

Multiple Firings After Racially Charged Facebook Remarks Mocking a Black Child Go Viral https://t.co/zXBgIDdzSK pic.twitter.com/fFpAucRT5C

— zellie (@zellieimani) October 5, 2015

White Americans are the biggest terror threat in U.S., study finds http://t.co/cxoFBB8Q61 pic.twitter.com/iFt40G7X9V

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 24, 2015

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The Justice Department will free 6,000 federal prisoners at the end of the month, the largest-ever one-time release http://t.co/jtiRVO4F04

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 6, 2015

Obama is right to be cautious in Syria http://t.co/IaR1U5eehj

— Eugene Robinson (@Eugene_Robinson) October 6, 2015

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Any wonder why you have dumb racists wandering around?

https://twitter.com/CuntryCuzn/status/650013023806091264

Texas mom calls out publisher after noticing high school son’s text book glossed over slavery http://t.co/4OZ9HeLVM3 pic.twitter.com/5yPx5WxmmL

— Raw Story (@RawStory) October 4, 2015

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In other news, water is wet

Black and white Americans use drugs at similar rates. One group is punished more for it. http://t.co/0qP9V6gM0V pic.twitter.com/PbTEG3ZLjZ

— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 4, 2015

The hidden costs of funding prisons instead of schools http://t.co/DsMqYzzYU4 by @Chepkangai pic.twitter.com/U1owHSWcE4

— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 4, 2015

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One more reason why nobody should shed tears when proposals are made to tax jerks like these their fair share

https://twitter.com/SeanMcElwee/status/650824972038991872

https://twitter.com/SeanMcElwee/status/650825439909388288

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How about House #GOP puts a #gun safety bill on the Floor and the people we elected to debate it actually debate it? https://t.co/ENlox1dKMn

— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) October 4, 2015

We should all hang our heads in shame over this: http://t.co/hoHzEXTfIC pic.twitter.com/K6q5wcbAhm

— Michael A. Cohen (NOT TRUMP’S FORMER FIXER) (@speechboy71) October 4, 2015

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Voter suppression all around us

250,000 registered voters in Alabama don't have valid voter ID & state just closed 31 DMVs http://t.co/e6vGqwSEF1 pic.twitter.com/oU0C50kRIK

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) October 3, 2015

Barbering for Freedom: Segregation, separatism, & history of black barbershops http://t.co/JgGK1TjLTE @rodriquese pic.twitter.com/TVOaOSdXhe

— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 4, 2015

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