Family members honor John Lewis at hometown memorial service
Troy University in Troy, Alabama, on Saturday hosted a memorial service for former Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died last week at the age of 80, launching six days of ceremonies honoring the civil rights icon.
The casket carrying Lewis' body arrived in Troy, his hometown, earlier this morning, accompanied by Alabama state troopers. Troy Mayor Jason noted that it was members of the agency who beat Lewis in 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, but "now they'll lead his body across this state" so people can honor his memory.
John Lewis "The Boy from Troy" comes home for the last time pic.twitter.com/W1FGIydkNy
— AJC (@ajc) July 25, 2020
Several members of Lewis' family spoke, including his siblings and his young nephew, who told those gathered "it's up to us to keep his legacy alive."
“The John Lewis that I knew, the John Lewis that I want you to know about, is the John Lewis that would gravitate towards the least of us,” says his brother Henry “Grant” Lewis.
“He worked a lifetime to help others and made the world a better place in which to live.” pic.twitter.com/EfEAttNhw1
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) July 25, 2020
“Congressman John Lewis was my uncle and my hero. And it's up to us to keep his legacy alive,” Lewis’ nephew said during the civil rights icon’s memorial service in his hometown. https://t.co/MZipb4ZEKF pic.twitter.com/hxHo1lfFTm
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) July 25, 2020
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