John Robert Lewis, the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, to become a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime US congressman, has died after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 80.
Obama said that he hugged Lewis at his inauguration in 2009 and "told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made."
Lewis "loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise," Obama wrote.
Fighting for civil rights, Rep. John Lewis' example will continue to inspire.
Lewis' real power came from his stature as a civil rights icon. Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, was one of the first lawmakers new members wanted to meet, and he remained a revered figure, both by Republicans and Democrats, until his death.
Thousands of protest. 45 arrest. 33 years in congress. Sometimes change calls for a little trouble. "Never, ever be afraid to make some good noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
John Lewis is the one of our nation's best examples of what it means to be a rebel with a cause, to fight for what is right, to move lives, change a country and to live bad. Thank you, John Lewis.
#RestInPower Feb. 21, 1940 - Jul. 17, 2020
