Civil rights icon Lewis lauded as hero at Georgia Capitol
ATLANTA — John Lewis was lauded as a warrior and a hero during a ceremony Wednesday at the Georgia Capitol, where the civil rights icon who represented much of Atlanta in Congress will lie in repose before a funeral service that at least two former presidents are expected to attend.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Mr. Lewis called on “America to be America again,” referencing the poem in which Langston Hughes reproaches the country for not living up to its ideals.
“Until his last days, he was calling on America to be America again in his words and deeds,” she said, citing his visit to the Black Lives
Matter street mural in Washington, D.C., as well as a videoconference he participated in with former President Barack Obama.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called Mr. Lewis a “beloved Georgian, an American hero and a friend to all who sought a better, fairer, more united society.”
Mr. Kemp presented the Lewis family with a folded Georgia state flag.
Among the other guests at the ceremony was Martin Luther King III, the son of the great civil rights leader who Mr. Lewis joined on the podium in the March on Washington.
Mr. King brought his 12year-old daughter, Yolanda, saying her presence was a fitting tribute to Mr. Lewis.
“Whenever he saw young people, he always made a beeline for them to encourage them,” Mr. King said.
People lined the streets as the hearse carrying Mr. Lewis’ body moved through downtown. It stopped briefly in front of a mural of Mr. Lewis with the word “Hero” before arriving at the state Capitol. Members of the public later filed into the rotunda to pay their respects.
The funeral service in Atlanta will be Thursday, followed by a private burial.
Mr. Obama will attend Mr. Lewis’ service and is expected to address mourners, according to a person familiar with the funeral arrangements who was not authorized to speak publicly. President George W. Bush’s office said he and first lady Laura Bush also will attend.