State mourns death of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis
Connecticut residents and officials reflected on the life of U.S. Rep. John Lewis on Saturday, as they and Americans across the country mourned the death of the civil rights leader and icon.
Lewis died Friday at the age of 80.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro,
D-3, said she was “devastated and heartbroken” at the death of her colleague, who she considered a force for justice in the world.
“The impact John Lewis has had on our country cannot be overstated,” said DeLauro. “Congressman Lewis’ service to our nation pre-dates his time in Congress. He was a trail
blazer.”
Lewis was a leader of the 1965 Alabama march from Selma to Montgomery for equal voting rights. He was beaten by police after crossing a bridge into Selma. The bridge is named after a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader and there is now a movement to rename the bridge after Lewis.
DeLauro also noted that Lewis “was a founder and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which organized sit-ins throughout the South. He was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders challenging the unjust rules of segregation in the South in the 1960s.”
“There are few in this world who change it,” said DeLauro. “The lessons John Lewis taught me, and the wisdom he shared with the Congress have made this institution and this country a better place. He led us in the sit-in movement in the well of the House to end gun violence. As John always said, ‘Never be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble.’ I will carry his words and his wisdom with me forever. My dear friend, John Lewis, you were a guiding light, you showed us the way.”
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker described Lewis as a “true leader of the people,” noting that he fought for justice throughout his entire life.
“We should honor his legacy and continue to work to undo systemic racism that keeps our families of color from achieving the same opportunities as others,” said Elicker.
Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP, said he and fellow members of the organization were “deeply saddened” by Lewis’ passing.
“He inspired activists in the NAACP across the State of Connecticut and throughout the Nation. He challenged us to be better and to find our way in the Civil Rights Movement. He always told us that if something isn’t right, isn’t just, we must stand up and do something about it,” said Esdaile in a statement. “That is what the Connecticut NAACP plans to do, we will continue to fight for freedom and justice. Congressman Lewis, will be truly missed, and we thank him for his service and sacrifice.”
Gov. Ned Lamont ordered U.S. and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff in Lewis’ honor.
“On behalf of the State of Connecticut, I thank Congressman Lewis for the decades of service he gave to our nation, and the impact he made throughout the entire country in the ongoing effort to bring positive change in the face of injustice,” said Lamont. “He leaves behind a legacy that will forever inspire us in immeasurable ways. He is an icon and a hero, and his passing is a terrible loss for our country.”
“Thank you for all the good trouble you have caused,” Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, said in a tweet. “You will be missed. Rest well my good friend~we will take it from here.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, said that Lewis’ morality “never wavered in its intense fidelity to justice, decency and kindness.”
“He was a powerful orator whose speeches on the floor of the US House and in public will long be remembered, but ultimately his power came from his deep faith in humanity’s ability to evolve to a higher and better state,” said Courtney. “He advised friends and colleagues ‘... to give it your all’ in the pursuit of that goal. History will judge that John did indeed ‘give his all’ throughout his extraordinary life.”
U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, said he was “honored and humbled to have served alongside” Lewis and to “have called him a friend.”
“John Lewis never stopped fighting. From his time leading the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the rest of the ‘Big Six’, to his time in Congress, he fought day in and day out for a more just and equal country,” said Larson. “He was the living embodiment of the teaching of Dr. King and led nonviolent, peaceful protests for human rights and racial equality. We will never be able to thank him for all that he has done to move our country forward.”
Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, said he “can’t quite believe that John Lewis is gone.”
“John radiated spiritual and temporal authority, always tempered by bonedeep grace and humility,” Himes tweeted. “His mission was nothing less than the expiation of our nation’s sins, even as his demeanor was always one of near childlike joy.”
“I don’t understand why God would take him at a time when decency, goodness and justice — John’s values — have been overrun by a malignant national burlesque,” Himes said. “I guess his work is all ours now. We need to keep getting into good trouble.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., described Lewis as “a towering leader — a teacher (and) preacher of giant conscience, courage (and) caring.”
Khalilah Brown-Dean, associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, pointed to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as an example of Lewis’ legacy.
She previously presented a report she co-authored on the impact of the legislation, titled “50 Years of the Voting Rights Act: The State of Race in Politics,” at a celebration of the act and Lewis’ bravery in 2015.
“Congressman John Lewis was an American statesman whose dedication to making real the promise of democracy affirmed the importance of voting rights for all Americans,” Brown-Dean said. “This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; a monumental piece of legislation inspired by the blood he shed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. It is fitting that in this year of massive social unrest, economic uncertainty, and a looming Presidential election, that John Lewis’s transition inspires all of us to commit to making ‘good trouble.’ ”
Officials at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, said Lewis’ “death is a tremendous loss at a moment when his moral conviction and clarity are needed perhaps more than ever,” but noted the power of his example, saing that ageneration of young leaders is “pushing today to dismantle the systemic racism and white supremacy that persist within our institutions of power.”
“His insistence on believing that America could be a country where true justice prevails for everyone is both an inspiration and a challenge to us all to stay engaged in that work,” GLAD officials said.