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Black US civil rights leader John Lewis lies in state

July 27, 2020

The veteran lawmaker and civil rights icon has been honored with a rare ceremony in the Capitol building's Rotunda. Nancy Pelosi described him as "the conscience of Congress."

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USA Gedenkgottesdienst des verstorbenen Kongressabgeordneten John Lewis
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom/UPI Photo/M. A. McCoy

The body of US Congressman John Lewis lied in state on Monday in the Capitol building in Washington. It is the first time the body of a Black lawmaker has laid in state in the Capitol's Rotunda, a rare ceremony reserved for the US' most prolific political leaders.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the Democratic Party led a delegation to the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to greet Lewis' casket. She led a small ceremony to pay homage to the veteran activist and lawmaker.

"Congressman John Lewis was the conscience of the Congress," Pelosi said. "Today, we say goodbye to our friend and colleague, honoring his legacy of advancing freedom and justice for all."

Read more:  John Lewis — Remembering a US hero in struggle against racism

Speaking to DW, Congressman Al Green praised Lewis as "the conscience and the moral compass of Congress." Green described Lewis as a person "who had his heritage in slavery but made his way to Congress not because he was writing great legislation, but because people knew that there needed to be a righteous voice."

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, restrictions were in place that limited the number of people in attendance the Rotunda ceremony. His body will later be moved to the steps on the Capitol's east side for public viewing.

Civil Rights icon Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) prepares to pay his respects to U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who lies in state within Statuary Hall during a memorial ceremony on Capitol Hill on October 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Lewis paid his respect to Elijah Cummings of Baltimore in the Capitol last year, the first African-American to lie in state in the building, but that ceremony was not in the RotundaImage: Getty Images/M. Mara

'I know your pain'

Lewis, who served in the US House of Representatives for 17 terms, died of pancreatic cancer on July 17 at the age of 80.

At the age of 25, Lewis led hundreds of marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the Alabama city of Selma, where he was nearly beaten to death by state troopers.

Even in his later years, Lewis pushed for racial and economic justice. On the heels of nationwide protests triggered by the police killing of Black American George Floyd, Lewis spearheaded police reform efforts.

"I know your pain, your rage, your sense of despair and hopelessness. Justice has, indeed, been denied for far too long. Rioting, looting and burning is not the way. Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand-up. Vote. Be constructive, not destructive," Lewis said in a tweet in May.

Commemorations for Lewis are expected to last six days. The week of commemorations will end with a private funeral at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, which was once led by renowned civil rights activist and pastor Martin Luther King Jr.

ls/msh (dpa, AFP)