US – Rep John Lewis died today at the age of 80 from stage four pancreatic cancer, Lewis was a well known civil right figure in both Congress and during the civil rights movement in 1963.
Lewis a Georgia Democrat announced in December he had stage four cancer. He said during a interview with New York times that he would fight the cancer like he has fought for racial injustice. “I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” he said during that interview.
Lewis was respected by people on both sides of the political isle. A statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
“John Lewis was a titan of the civil rights movement whose goodness, faith and bravery transformed our nation — from the determination with which he met discrimination at lunch counters and on Freedom Rides, to the courage he showed as a young man facing down violence and death on Edmund Pettus Bridge, to the moral leadership he brought to the Congress for more than 30 years,” the speaker said in a statement.
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) said in a statement today, “John Lewis was a civil rights icon who committed his life to fighting for justice and equality. I was honored to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives with him where he helped us establish the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in my hometown of Cincinnati. I have been blessed to call this gracious man my friend.
“In 2015, Jane and I joined John Lewis on a trip to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which I understand the people of Selma may rededicate in his name, an appropriate tribute.
“In Selma on that 50th anniversary, John Lewis brought together elected officials of both parties, including President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush, in support of the civil rights movement, and the dignity, civility, and non-violence that John stood for. We will all miss his presence. Jane and I lift up his family in prayer during this difficult time.”
Lewis has served in the US House of Representatives since 1987, before his time in the US he spent time fighting with Dr. Martin Luther King and was even arrested for using a white restroom during the Freedom Rides of 1961.
“John Lewis was a civil rights icon who committed his life to fighting for justice and equality. I was honored to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives with him where he helped us establish the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in my hometown of Cincinnati. I have been blessed to call this gracious man my friend.
“In 2015, Jane and I joined John Lewis on a trip to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which I understand the people of Selma may rededicate in his name, an appropriate tribute.
“In Selma on that 50th anniversary, John Lewis brought together elected officials of both parties, including President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush, in support of the civil rights movement, and the dignity, civility, and non-violence that John stood for. We will all miss his presence. Jane and I lift up his family in prayer during this difficult time.”
Recently Lewis spoke on police reform, Lewis was known for his polished discussions of racial injustice for more than 50 years.
President Obama awarded Lewis the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2011.
“In so many ways, John’s life was exceptional,” Obama said in a statement Friday. “But he never believed that what he did was more than any citizen of this country might do. He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity for great courage, a longing to do what’s right, a willingness to love all people, and to extend to them their God-given rights to dignity and respect. And it’s because he saw the best in all of us that he will continue, even in his passing, to serve as a beacon in that long journey towards a more perfect union.”
Lewis wife died in 2012, hes survived by one son John-Miles Lewis
