Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon who began pushing for racial justice in the Jim Crow south, has
Source: USA Today
WASHINGTON Rep. John R. Lewis, the civil rights icon whose fight for racial justice began in the Jim Crow south and ended in the halls of Congress, died Friday night.
The Georgia lawmaker had been suffering from Stage IV pancreatic cancer since December. He was 80.
The son of Alabama sharecroppers, Lewis served in Congress for more than three decades, pushing the causes he championed as an original Freedom Rider challenging segregation, discrimination and injustice in the Deep South issues reverberating today in the Black Lives Matter movement.
He was an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963 along with Martin Luther King Jr., a seminal moment in the Civil Rights movement that led to the passage of voting rights for Blacks two years later.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/17/rep-john-lewis-civil-rights-icon-original-freedom-rider-has-died/795340002/
More:
Link to tweet
Can't believe I'm bawling here....
Scalded Nun
(1,236 posts)Zoonart
(11,875 posts)horror that I have cried. I am crushed right now.
greyl
(22,990 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)...in the 1960s, and John Lewis was a big part of it.
A great American who did so much more for not only the Civil Rights movement, but America.
So glad he had a chance to stand on Black Lives Matter Plaza a couple of weeks ago.
FM123
(10,054 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,678 posts)Bev54
(10,066 posts)of the young, time to cross that bridge again.
to that
tblue37
(65,477 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,788 posts)The Georgia congressman passed away on Friday in Atlanta after receiving hospice care to treat pancreatic cancer.
Daily Beast reported the news of Lewis' death on Twitter late Friday night.
More to follow...
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,788 posts)But better late than never.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,806 posts)Such sad news.
cayugafalls
(5,641 posts)Rest in Power.
highplainsdem
(49,022 posts)Cha
(297,496 posts)to all of us who care about Equal Rights for ALL!
DoBotherMe
(2,340 posts)Happy Mr Lewis
[link:http://
I'm going to miss that beautiful man
Cha
(297,496 posts)Mahlao for this, DBM.
At least we have him on Vid and a lot of tweets!
Grammy23
(5,810 posts)I shared it on Facebook because we need to remember him this way, too. Nothing can bring me down! What a great mantra to hold in life.
gonna miss him, he's there with Elijah now. Probably talking up a storm.
Rhiannon12866
(205,788 posts)Civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who has been receiving hospice care, passed away at the age of 80, a source has told NBC News.
Lewis, a Democrat, played a key role in the civil rights movement and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 in Selma, Alabama. He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, led by King Jr., who engineered one of the greatest moral protests in history.
Lewis was best known for leading some 600 protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. At the head of the march, Lewis was knocked to the ground and beaten by Alabama state troopers. His skull was fractured. Televised images forced the country's attention to racial oppression in the South. A Democrat from Atlanta, he won his U.S. House seat in 1986.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/rep-john-lewis-dies-at-80/2470531/
Maraya1969
(22,490 posts)May his death bring a sliver of the hope that his live gave us.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)dalton99a
(81,565 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,593 posts)It seemed to be such an important moment when it happened and they stood together.
May this hero rest in peace.
hamsterjill
(15,223 posts)Im so sorry that weve lost him when we needed him very much. His suffering is over. My sympathies to his family and friends.
George II
(67,782 posts)GReedDiamond
(5,316 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,019 posts)still_one
(92,325 posts)Docreed2003
(16,869 posts)appalachiablue
(41,168 posts)So very sad.
greatauntoftriplets
(175,748 posts)ellie
(6,929 posts)Mr. Lewis.
robleb
(162 posts)Free at Last, thank God almighty
I'm free at last!
Rest in Peace gentle soul and voice of justice.
orleans
(34,070 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,623 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)electric_blue68
(14,923 posts)Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)electric_blue68
(14,923 posts)I was listening to Brian Williams. Walking in apt I missed actual news but then BW spoke of him in the past tense....
Oh, no! 😥
Rest in Peace Rep Lewis.
We'll continue to bend that Arc towards Justice.
Strength to all grieving.
MichMan
(11,958 posts)SunSeeker
(51,635 posts)I hope we live up to his ideals some day.
niyad
(113,510 posts)Tears here as well.
democrank
(11,098 posts)hero
BumRushDaShow
(129,304 posts)We have lost 2 civil rights icons in 2 days. But at least now we are seeing is that what they fought and suffered for DID bear fruit. They at least got to see how their sacrifices produced what we see today - something that didn't even happen to the extent that we see now, when they were marching in the '50s and '60s.
We are literally having daily nationwide marches for justice - from the biggest cities to the smallest towns, from sea to shining sea, and we are seeing the same globally. Symbols and systems of oppression are crumbling from the ground-shaking roar of people who have had enough.
R.I.P. Rep. Lewis and thank you for your tireless service.
PunkinPi
(4,875 posts)Link to tweet
Rep. John Lewis speaking at the march on Washington 54 years ago during the civil rights movement. He was only 23 years old at the time.
Listen to his words and you'd think he gave this speech today.
REST IN PEACE
Pachamama
(16,887 posts)Thank you for posting
John Lewis and his message and soul live on
MissMillie
(38,570 posts)Thank you for your tireless fight.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)Now this is a more reliable source than a twit tweeting about something.
paleotn
(17,938 posts)I mourn the passing of a great one.
tavernier
(12,396 posts)to sit in on one of representative JLs talks at a convention years ago. Many celebrity politicians spoke that day, but none of them connected with the audience like this simple, lovely, human man. You will be greatly missed, my friend.
Go-Rebels
(1 post)Maybe thats a good thing. I can only imagine the responses.
George II
(67,782 posts)DesertRat
(27,995 posts)Welcome to DU.
mcar
(42,366 posts)OnlinePoker
(5,725 posts)Talitha
(6,611 posts)Politicub
(12,165 posts)BLM!
ck4829
(35,079 posts)gademocrat7
(10,665 posts)We loved so much. Atlanta will carry on your good trouble.
iluvtennis
(19,868 posts)A candle for each year of his life.
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,973 posts)wendyb-NC
(3,328 posts)Chemisse
(30,814 posts)He lived a great life and died at an old age. If we all could be so lucky as lay on our deathbed and know that we made such a difference in the world.
Upthevibe
(8,067 posts)............................
ffr
(22,671 posts)RIP.
ehrnst
(32,640 posts)and wish he could have lived through the convention, because he wouldn't likely be booed and mocked as a "neolib" this time.
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)turbinetree
(24,710 posts)Hip2bSquare
(291 posts)I hope we can give him a big smile as he looks down on us in November!!
polmaven
(9,463 posts)bdamomma
(63,917 posts)he was one of the greats. He must be dancing with the angels too. He will be sorely missed.
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)Rest in peace John Lewis.
warmfeet
(3,321 posts)sense of character, fairness and equality.
We have much to strive for. I am ever grateful that we have the likes of Representative John Lewis to lead the way. A hero by any definition. John will be sorely missed.
Tommymac
(7,263 posts)ailsagirl
(22,898 posts)dreamland
(964 posts)A great man who will be justly lauded in our history books. We shall miss him. Rest in peace, John.
calimary
(81,417 posts)His name, I hope, will be a motivating battle cry
VOTE!!! Do it for John Lewis!!!