On Wednesday June 22, 2016, the world took notice as my boss for the summer, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, led a “sit-in” on the floor of the US House of Representatives to demand that the Republican majority allow proposed gun control measures to be considered and voted upon.
I first met Congressman Lewis when I was in fifth grade, and over the next eight years, I visited with him in his office back home in Atlanta several times. I heard first-hand all about his marches and his demonstrations during the Civil Rights Movement, as well as his speeches and of course, his sit-ins. I came to know him as the greatest living champion of civil rights, on whose shoulders I stood. I also knew that he was a seasoned politician, a Congressman respected by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
With all of that in mind, leading up to the start of my internship in Congressman Lewis’ office, I envisioned a summer spent working in the presence of the master activist-politician, perhaps being able to spend an occasional moment soaking up wisdom from my boss. I had no idea that I would actually end up witnessing first-hand—much less playing a role in—one of John Lewis’ peaceful demonstrations, one that involved the marriage of civil rights leader John Lewis and Congressman John Lewis.
So on the morning of June 22, most of us in the office were expecting a typical in-session workday. However, at around 11 am, our legislative director informed us that something out of the ordinary was about to happen: a sit-in on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, led by our boss, John Lewis.
We in the office were watching with eyes glued to the C-SPAN broadcast as Congressman Lewis began his fiery speech, the speech that introduced the impending sit-in. “Give us a vote,” my boss demanded, urging his colleagues in the House to be “headlights, and not taillights.” The final words of his speech truly set the tone for the sit-in: “Now is the time to get in the way. The time to act is now. We will be silent no more. The time for silence is over.”
As his Democratic colleagues began to join Congressman Lewis on the floor moments after the end of his speech, it was clear that something big was happening. They had chosen to break the rules in order to get into, as Congressman Lewis often says, “good trouble, necessary trouble.” The Speaker, in response to this, chose to send the House into recess, since order had been lost. Thus began the sit-in.
The C-SPAN cameras were then turned off, as is customary when the House is in recess, so we in the office could not even see what was transpiring on the House floor! We would not have had much time to watch the feed anyway, because as the sit-in got underway, the office phones began to ring… literally off the hook. Though answering phones is generally a task delegated to us interns, every staff member in the office pitched in due to the extraordinarily high volume of calls. We, especially the three of us who are interning in the office, were tasked with noting each caller as either “in favor of” or “not in favor of” the sit-in, and noting where each caller was calling from. I personally answered over 150 calls that afternoon, and fortunately, most- but not all- were quick offerings of support. Others, on the other hand, were quick bursts of racist rhetoric.
Feeling particularly heavy at the conclusion of many of the phone calls, I would attempt an exhale after hanging up the phone, only to find that another call was coming through, with all of my fellow interns already speaking with callers! Without having the opportunity to even stand up and stretch my legs for hours, I had to remind myself as I answered each call that I needed to speak with the same sincerity and energy that I did with my first caller.
A call I will never forget came from a mother who lost her daughter in the Sandy Hook massacre. She nearly moved me to tears as she tearfully expressed gratitude and admiration for Congressman Lewis and his efforts to curb gun violence in this country.
As my cell phone began vibrating with texts from friends back home in Atlanta, I began to realize just how far-reaching the effects of my boss’ sit-in were. I eventually stepped away from the office that afternoon to visit the House chamber for about a half-hour, and I felt overwhelmed as I sat there watching Congressman Lewis- my boss for the summer- who had led civil rights sit-ins with Dr. King fifty years ago, standing up by sitting down on the floor of the House.
The sit-in continued until around noon the following day, and when Congressman Lewis finally returned to the office, electricity filled the air as we snapped pictures and greeted our rock-star Representative with applause, handshakes, and pats on the back. At that point, though the fight was not over, after nearly 2,000 phone calls to the office in the span of two days, the sit-in was over. How honored and grateful I am to have been a part of Team Lewis during such a truly historic moment. Not only was I able to witness up-close history in the making, but I also was able to play my own role, no matter how small it may seem, in making that history.
Gevin Reynolds ‘19 is a Harvard IOP Director’s Intern in the Office of US Congressman John Lewis (GA-05). A neurobiolgy concetrator hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, he plans to pursue law one day, and to eventually run for elected office. He is a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar, an active member of the Seventh Day Adventists Club, will be serving as a Voting Member of the 2016-2017 Harvard College Honor Council, and looks forward to interning with the Harvard Law Review in the upcoming school year. Congressman John Lewis is a personal hero of his.