On July 17, 2025, there was a nationwide call to action to commemorate the life and legacy of John Lewis, where many put emphasis on how his philosophy of getting in “good trouble” inspired them. Good trouble was Lewis’s coined phrase inspired by Rosa Parks, who taught him the philosophy and discipline of non-violence. “Rosa Parks inspired us to get in trouble. And I’ve been getting in trouble ever since,” said Lewis. “She inspired us to find a way, to get in the way, to get in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.”
There were 1,600 events nationwide that took place, and thousands of people gathered for nonviolent action in Minneapolis as part of the Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action with organizers from Indivisible Twin Cities, MN 50501, Women’s March MN, AFL-CIO, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and the Racial Justice Network.
John Lewis, born on February 21, 1940, in Troy, Alabama, was a renowned civil rights leader and politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 2020.
He was known for the notable 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, like “Bloody Sunday,” an event that took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The then 25-year-old Lewis led over 600 marchers 54 miles along a highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery to advocate the need for voting rights for racial minorities.
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