Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation

Late civil rights leader and Georgia congressman Lewis (Across That Bridge) offers advice for young activists in this wise and moving account written during the last months of his life. In a series of brief meditations on such topics as spirituality, faith, and character, Lewis (1940–2020) stresses the importance of both having and being a mentor and draws from his experiences growing up in Alabama during the Jim Crow era to inspire readers toward hope. He recalls, for instance, that he couldn’t get a library card at age 16 because he was Black; after the publication of his autobiography in 2012, he was invited to give a reading at the same Alabama library he visited as a teenager, and finally got his library card. Throughout, Lewis reflects on his work in the civil rights movement, stressing the importance of nonviolent protest, and his career in Congress, where he opposed his own party’s position on the Defense of Marriage Act and the 1994 crime bill (“In the end, I listened to the voice within”). The book’s conversational tone and brisk history lessons make it accessible to readers of all ages. The result is a winning introduction to the man and his philosophies of life. (July)