Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Obama Used His John Lewis Eulogy To Condemn Trump's Response To The Portland Protests

Barack Obama gave a powerful eulogy for Rep. John Lewis at his funeral service.

Barack Obama used his eulogy at the funeral for Rep. John Lewis on Thursday to compare President Donald Trump's sending of federal officers to quash protests in Portland, Oregon, to the tactics of George Wallace, the segregationist Alabama governor who sent state troopers to violently break up peaceful civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s.

Lewis, a civil rights icon who died on July 17 at age 80, was nearly beaten to death in Selma by Alabama troopers authorized by Wallace to stop a historic march for voting rights on March 7, 1965, in what came to be known as Bloody Sunday.

Speaking at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Obama also compared the current use of force by police against Black people to the racist actions of Bull Connor, the commissioner of public safety in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s who was known for using fire hoses and police dog attacks against civil rights activists in Alabama.

"Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans," Obama said, referring to the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

"George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators," he added.


Wallace, a Democratic politician and the 44th governor of Alabama, was a staunch segregationist who, as Lewis wrote in a 1998 New York Times opinion piece, "fought the civil rights movement with every fiber of his being."

"He was a demagogue whose words and actions created a climate that allowed for violent reprisals against those seeking to end racial discrimination," he wrote.

In March 1965, civil rights leaders, including Lewis, planned to lead a 54-mile march of around 600 activists from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery to protest a Black man's fatal shooting by troopers and to demand full voting rights for Black Americans.

Wallace, citing concerns of traffic flow, ordered state troopers "to use whatever measures are necessary to prevent" the march.

"Such a march cannot and will not be tolerated," Wallace said during a press conference at the time, according to a newspaper clipping from the Los Angeles Times.

Cameras captured state police violently breaking up the demonstration, using tear gas and clubs to beat up hundreds of marchers. Lewis, who said he nearly died that day, suffered a fractured skull, among other injuries.

In Portland, dozens of widely shared videos have captured federal officers quashing what had been largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests by using tear gas, "less lethal" munitions, and batons.


Trump has repeatedly described protesters in Portland as "anarchists and agitators" and emphasized the need for federal troops to "protect" federal property in the city.

But the Trump administration agreed on Thursday to begin withdrawing federal officers from Portland as long as Oregon authorities take steps to protect federal buildings.

In the 1998 Times piece, Lewis wrote that when he met Wallace in 1979, he was a "changed man" who acknowledged his bigotry and "wanted to be forgiven."

Lewis wrote a final opinion piece for the New York Times prior to his death, which was published Thursday to coincide with his funeral. In it, the late Democratic lawmaker compared Black Lives Matter to the civil rights movement of his era.

"When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century," he wrote, "let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression, and war."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
×