'I'm prepared to go to jail': John Lewis slams Trump's border policies.

Robbie Couch
06.22.18

Long before he was a congressman representing Georgia, John Lewis was arrested ... for going to the bathroom.

Well, the wrong bathroom.

In 2016, Lewis tweeted his vintage mug shot with the caption, "I was arrested in the Jackson, MS bus station for using a 'whites-only' restroom," and the hashtag #GoodTrouble.

Nearly six decades later, Lewis is still getting into "good trouble." And he wants the rest of us to do the same.

In a fiery speech on June 20, the congressman blasted President Donald Trump's extreme and unpopular family separation policy.

"I saw those signs that said, 'white men,' 'colored men,'" Lewis recalled of his childhood growing up in the rural south. "But I was inspired by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and I got in the way. I got in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble."

Just because it was the law didn't make it right.

"This has gone on too long, and it must stop, and it must stop now — not tomorrow, but now!" Lewis said, segueing from the civil rights era of the 1960s to our current humanitarian crisis.

"Just tell me whatever you want me to do," Lewis continued, with a nod to Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois standing nearby. "I will go to the borders. I'd get arrested again."

"You know, if necessary, I'm prepared to go to jail," Lewis said, embracing a child with his right arm. "Thank you, brother."

A march protests family separations on June 13. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

What's right is not always lawful, and the law is not always right. Many of humanity's darkest moments — slavery, the Holocaust, Japanese-American interment camps, and more — were protected by the rule of law.  

It's up to us to change what's acceptable.

Shortly after the Democrats' press conference, Trump signed an executive order reversing the family separation policy his administration first enforced.

But the story is far from over.

Trump's order did nothing to clarify how the thousands of separated migrant children will be reunited with their parents, and many advocates argue the reversal still leaves families in the deplorable conditions we decided were too harsh for children.

The good news is that there are many ways to keep fighting for these children and their families — and maybe even get into some good trouble along the way.

You can support legal aid groups specialized in immigration law doing on-the-ground work protecting migrants this very moment. Buy apparel that benefits youth-led immigrant advocacy work. Keep sharing stories with loved ones as this story develops in the weeks and months ahead. Volunteer and get involved however you can.  

As Lewis concluded his speech outside the Capitol: "Now is the time to do what is right, what is fair, and what is just."

Let's get into good trouble together.

justice immigration donald trump protest civil rights john lewis civil disobedience family separation detainment camps
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Michelle Obama named 'most admired woman in the world,' because of course she is.

The world can't get enough Michelle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

The world officially loves Michelle Obama.

The former first lady has overtaken the number one spot in a poll of the world's most admired women. Conducted by online research firm YouGov, the study uses international polling tools to survey people in countries around the world about who they most admire.

In the men's category, Bill Gates took the top spot, followed by Barack Obama and Jackie Chan.

In the women's category, Michelle Obama came first, followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. Obama pushed Jolie out of the number one spot she claimed last year.

Unsurprising, really, because what's not to love about Michelle Obama? She is smart, kind, funny, accomplished, a great dancer, a devoted wife and mother, and an all-around, genuinely good person.

She has remained dignified and strong in the face of rabid masses of so-called Americans who spent eight years and beyond insisting that she's a man disguised as a woman. She's endured non-stop racist memes and terrifying threats to her family. She has received far more than her fair share of cruelty, and always takes the high road. She's the one who coined, "When they go low, we go high," after all.

She came from humble beginnings and remains down to earth despite becoming a familiar face around the world. She's not much older than me, but I still want to be like Michelle Obama when I grow up.

Her memoir, Becoming, may end up being the best-selling memoir of all time, having already sold 10 million copies—a clear sign that people can't get enough Michelle, because there's no such thing as too much Michelle.

Don't like Michelle Obama? Don't care. Those of us who love her will fly our MO flags high and without apology, paying no mind to folks with cold, dead hearts who don't know a gem of a human being when they see one. There is nothing any hater can say or do to make us admire this undeniably admirable woman any less.

When it seems like the world has lost its mind—which is how it feels most days these days—I'm just going to keep coming back to this study as evidence that hope for humanity is not lost.

Here. Enjoy some real-life Michelle on Jimmy Kimmel. (GAH. WHY IS SHE SO CUTE AND AWESOME. I can't even handle it.)

Michelle & Barack Obama are Boring Now www.youtube.com

michelle obama michelle obama birthday obama barack obama
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