John Lewis to Become the First Black Lawmaker to Lie In State in the Capitol Rotunda
John Lewis, the legendary civil rights leader and United States Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district, has died. He was 80 years old. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus confirmed the news of his death on July 18.
"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," Pelosi said in a statement.
In December of last year, Lewis confirmed that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.
"I have been in some kind of fight—for freedom, equality, basic human rights—for nearly my entire life," he said in a statement at the time, sharing that he planned to work through treatment. "I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now."
His life and work was recently chronicled in Dawn Porter's documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble.
"We were filming my documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble, which is out July 3, as the administration was dismantling laws that Lewis literally risked his life for," Porter wrote in a piece for Town & Country's summer 2020 issue.
"I would get really upset, but he would say, 'Dawn, you can’t get bitter. It will work out; it just might take longer than we’d like.'"
Funeral Details
There were several memorials honoring Lewis over the weekend and services will continue into this week. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lewis will "lie in state or repose at each locale, allowing members of the public to file past his casket. The family has requested that all participants wear masks, regardless of whether the event is indoors or outdoors."
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is also of concern to organizers.
"Although funeral organizers have spread events across various locales, they are still encouraging people not to travel in order to participate because they are worried about the spread of the coronavirus," reports the AJC.
"Instead, Lewis’ family is urging people to watch from home and have arranged for events to be both broadcast on TV and livestreamed."
Find a full schedule below:
Saturday
A service celebrating "The Boy from Troy" will take place in the Trojan Arena at Troy University. After which, Lewis will lie in repose 11 a.m.-2 p.m. CT. In the evening, Lewis will be honored at the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma at 6 p.m. He will lie in repose at the church 8 p.m.-11 p.m. CT. Watch a video of the service here.
Sunday
There will be a procession from Brown Chapel across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Lewis's honor at 10 a.m. CT. Watch the procession live here.
A ceremony at the Alabama State Capitol will follow at 2 p.m., and Lewis will lie in state from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. CT.
Monday and Tuesday
Lewis's casket will then travel to Washington D.C. On Monday, there will be a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda at 3 p.m. ET. Lewis will the lie in state 3-10 p.m. ET, and again from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Watch the service live here.
Lewis is the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.
Wednesday
Lewis will then travel once again to Atlanta, where there will be a ceremony at the Georgia State Capitol Rotunda at 2 p.m. ET. Lewis will then lie in state 3-7 p.m. ET on Wednesday and 8 p.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday.
Thursday
The private funeral for Congressman Lewis will take place at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary.
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