After 48 years, forgiveness for a bus station racial attack

[babylonsister]

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009

After 48 years, Lewis claims all is forgiven for bus station incident in Rock Hill
By Andrew Dys - [e-mail]


Almost 48 years have passed since a mob of white men beat up two civil rights demonstrators at Rock Hill's Greyhound bus station. One white man and one black man, called Freedom Riders, were protesting segregated transportation. They tried to both go into a waiting room that on May 9,1961, was for "whites" only.

When asked Monday night if any of the people who beat him in 1961 in Rock Hill, or attacked the Freedom Ride bus days later in Alabama, ever apologized before, U.S. Rep John Lewis, D-Ga. said, "Never. Until now."

One of the Rock Hill mob has apologized.

Lewis said Monday that man is forgiven.

In a telephone interview Monday night from his office in Washington, D.C., Lewis said he read and heard Monday about the apology of Elwin Wilson for past acts of hate, published Saturday in The Herald. "I accept that apology, and would love to have the opportunity some day to talk to that man if he wants to,"

Lewis said. "I have no ill feelings. No malice. This shows the distance we have come. It shows grace on his part. It shows courage."

more...

http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/1095665.html

[Botany]

1. Lewis is a good man

I hope they meet and talk and it is kept private too.

[Thirtieschild]

2. From Selma to the White House

I teared up when John Lewis was the first person Obama hugged when he walked onto to Inauguration Stand.

[dorkulon]

3. Gee, what a guy. Only took him half a century to figure out cracking a man's skull

in the name of tribalism was a bad move.

Lewis is a better man than I. I'd have spat in the fucker's eye.