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July 27, 2020

John Lewis Crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge for Last Time as Family and Supporters Pay Their Respect
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The body of civil rights leader and Georgia Congressmember John Lewis
has made one last trip across a bridge in Selma, Alabama, that became a
flashpoint in the struggle for racial equality in the Jim Crow south. On
Sunday, a funeral caisson drawn by two black horses crossed the Edmund
Pettus Bridge, with family members placing red roses on the spot where
Lewis was almost beaten to death by police in 1965 while marching for
voting rights. This is Fred Lewis, speaking at a weekend memorial
service for his brother, John Lewis.

Fred Lewis: "I remember the day when John left home. Mother told him not
to get in trouble, not to get in the way, and be particular. Well, we
all know that John got in trouble, got in the way. But it was a good
trouble. John was different from the rest of the family, and he would
have thoughts that all of the troubles he got himself into would change
the world."

Lewis's body will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,
today ahead of a funeral in Georgia.

Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn is seeking to rename a major
voting rights bill after John Lewis. The legislation, which has already
been approved by the House, would restore parts of the Voting Rights Act
gutted by a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. Republican Senate Majority
Leader Mitch Mc Connell has refused to schedule a debate on the bill. 


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