Civil Rights Leader Lewis Softening Dismissal of Sanders
By Meg Kinnard, AP Greenville, S.C. (Feb. 13, 2016, 3:15 PM ET)
Civil rights leader John Lewis on Saturday softened his dismissal of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ work in the 1960s on behalf of racial equality.
Lewis, a Georgia congresswoman who has endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race, had said about Sanders’ role in the movement: “I never saw him. I never met him.”
Two days later, he felt compelled to clarify his remarks “in the interest of unity.”
“The fact that I did not meet him in the movement does not mean I doubted that Sen. Sanders participated,” Lewis said, and “neither was I attempting to disparage his activism.”
John Lewis clarifies comments on Bernie Sanders
By Alex Seitz-Wald (Feb. 13, 2016 12:22 PM)
Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis on Saturday clarified comments he made earlier this week questioning Sen. Bernie Sanders’ involvement in the civil rights movement. Lewis, who is supporting Hillary Clinton over Sanders in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, had said he never met Sanders.
