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‘We Have Lost a Giant’: Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon, Dies

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a Civil Rights icon, died on Friday at 80-years-old after battling cancer — drawing words of remembrance from many. After being elected in 1986, Lewis served 17 terms in Congress. Prior to that…

Madison SummersJul 18, 20203 min read

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Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a Civil Rights icon, died on Friday at 80-years-old after battling cancer — drawing words of remembrance from many.

After being elected in 1986, Lewis served 17 terms in Congress. Prior to that, he rose from poverty and he became a civil rights movement leader. He helped Martin Luther King Jr. organize the March on Washington and Lewis was a member of King’s inner circle. In 1965, he was beaten by an Alabama state trooper while leading hundreds of voting rights marchers from Selma to Montgomery during a peaceful march. That day is known as “Bloody Sunday.” He was arrested over 40 times for civil rights activities between 1960 to 1966.

Lewis shared to the public in December of 2019 that he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Among the many people who offered a tribute to Lewis was former President Barack Obama, who wrote in a statement, “He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise. And through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice, but inspired generations that followed to try to live up to his example.”

He later added:

Several others took to Twitter:

Lewis recently shared a tweet with a photo, marking 59 years since he “was released from Parchman Farm Penitentiary after being arrested in Jackson, MS for using a so-called ‘white’ restroom during the Freedom Rides of 1961.”

Lewis wrote in a tweet in June of 2018, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”