Bay Area politicians are mourning the passing of Congressman John Lewis, calling him a “titan” and “giant” of the civil rights movement.
Flags at Oakland and San Francisco city halls were lowered Saturday in honor of Lewis, who died at the age of 80 on Friday. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, called him a “dear friend” and “personal hero” in a tweet.
“One of the giants of the Civil Rights Movement in his youth, his leadership and courage continued as an extraordinary congressional leader,” the congresswoman tweeted.
I am deeply saddened by the news that my dear friend, colleague, and personal hero, John Lewis, has passed away.
One of the giants of the Civil Rights Movement in his youth, his leadership and courage continued as an extraordinary congressional leader. pic.twitter.com/PKznii17nj
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) July 18, 2020
Lewis, born to sharecroppers in the Jim Crow South in Alabama, was the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lewis led the peaceful 1965 march in Selma for equal voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, blocked by state troopers in riot gear. Lewis’ skull was cracked by a trooper’s club, in what became known as Bloody Sunday.
Battling pancreatic cancer since late December, Lewis offered his support to widespread national protests and demonstrations over police brutality after Minneapolis police in May killed George Floyd.
“How fitting it is that even in his last weeks of his battle with cancer, John summoned the strength to visit the peaceful protests where the newest generation of Americans had poured into the streets to take up the unfinished work of racial justice,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
“In the Congress, John Lewis was revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol,” Pelosi wrote. “All of us were humbled to call Congressman Lewis a colleague, and are heartbroken by his passing. May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make ‘good trouble, necessary trouble.’ God truly blessed America with the life and leadership of John Lewis.”
.@RepJohnLewis: hero, champion & challenge to conscience of the nation. Your visit with the newest voices for justice at the Black Lives Matter mural with @MayorBowser was wonderful & iconic. Thank you for that final public statement in furtherance of a more perfect union. pic.twitter.com/Us1tCmsYYd
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 18, 2020
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, said she “loved John Lewis.”
“The superlative words that will be used to describe him over the next weeks and months will not do justice to this man. I believe he is the greatest member of Congress to cross the threshold of the House chamber,” Speier wrote in a Twitter post.
Longtime Oakland Councilman Larry Reid held Lewis up as one of his heroes, along with Martin Luther King Jr., John and Robert Kennedy. While working on the 1984 Walter Mondale campaign, Reid met Lewis, former Atlanta mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young and Julian Bond, who helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
“Those are individuals you read about and never think you’ll have an opportunity to meet. It’s something you dream about to be able to interact, to hear them speak one on one. I had a chance to hear them all,” Reid said Saturday. “I have always held him in high esteem, as someone who fought the struggle and battles for African Americans to be able to vote, and for justice and equality,” Reid said Saturday.
Barbara Lee ended her series of tweets with a quote from Lewis: “Every generation leaves behind a legacy. What that legacy will be is determined by the people of that generation. What legacy do you want to leave behind?
“His presence in the halls of Congress and his legacy in our continuous fight for justice will be deeply missed,” Lee said.
He put his whole life into fighting the injustices that have long plagued this country, and he never stopped demonstrating unparalleled strength, perseverance, and dignity. So many of us stand on his shoulders, and our hearts grieve for the loss of a true hero.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 18, 2020