Bronx pols refl ect on life Rep. John Lewis
BY ALEX MITCHELL
As Georgia’s congressional
representative and civil rights
icon John Lewis was laid to rest
this week, his years of service in
pursuit of justice have inspired
and infl uenced many in the
Bronx’s political delegation.
Lewis, who died on Friday,
July 17 at age 80, was a hero of
the U.S. civil rights movement
of the 1960s, endured beatings
by white police and mobs and
played an outsized role in American
politics for 60 years.
Bronx Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. along with many
of his colleagues in government,
took to Twitter with remembrance
messages of the progressive
Democrat.
“As one of the lions of the
civil rights movement, you were
a trailblazer who shed blood
in the fi ght for equality, a role
model who inspired others to
stand up for what’s right,” Diaz
wrote on Twitter.
East Bronx and western
Queens Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez appeared
on an NPR radio program,
where she refl ected on the life of
Lewis as well.
“I would say that the beginning
of me really thinking about
politics in a traditional sense
was in looking at the example of
John Lewis and the civil rights
movement overall,” she said.
In the south Bronx, retiring
Congressman Jose E. Serrano
also wrote about his time of service
with Lewis in the house.
“He was a civil rights leader
we all looked to for advice. He
was a mentor and a friend. One
of the true heroes in our country.
R.I.P. my friend. We will
miss you,” Serrano wrote.
West Bronx and upper Manhattan
Congressman Adriano
Espaillat also released a statement
on Lewis’ passing.
“Congressman Lewis was a
leader of extraordinary principle
who stood at the vanguard
of the civil rights movement.
During his life and career, Congressman
Lewis demonstrated
unrivaled courage, leadership,
and commitment to the vitality
and diversity of our nation,”
he stated, adding “it was truly
awe-inspiring and my honor to
serve with Congressman Lewis
in the United States House of
Representatives. His torch may
have dimmed, but his legacy forever
shines bright in Congress
as we continue to champion the
work that he held dear to ensure
equality, freedom and justice for
all.”
for the north Bronx and south
Westchester also Tweeted out
a message of sincerity towards
the lessons learned from Lewis.
brought Americans together
across our differences to defeat
the racism tearing our country
apart from its inception,” Bowman
Father of the America we must
become.
was elected in 1986 as a Democrat
July 17, the 80-year-old died after
Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis
led sit-ins to integrate all-white
lunch counters, was one of the
original “Freedom Riders” who
integrated buses and suffered
a skull fracture while demonstrating
in a savage beating by a nightstick
state trooper during an incident
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,18 JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2020 BTR
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) waves after he speaks at the
ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial honoring the 50th anniversary of the
1963 March on Washington, August 24, 2013. Thousands of marchers were
expected in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech and
to urge action on jobs, voting rights and gun violence.
REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo
now called “Bloody Sunday.”
Lewis was present at many
of the civil rights movement’s
seminal moments, and was the
youngest speaker at the 1963
March on Washington where
Martin Luther King delivered
his “I Have a Dream” speech,
hoping for a land where Blacks
“will not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content
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Jamaal Bowman, the Democratic
congressional nominee
“He was an organizer who
wrote on Twitter..
John Lewis is a Founding
Lewis was born to an Alabama
sharecropper in 1940 and
to the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia. On
a battle with pancreatic cancer.
A protege of civil rights icon
for Black voting rights
wielding white Alabama
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of their character.”
Lewis, the last surviving
speaker at that speech, maintained
the fi ght for civil rights
until the end of his life. He made
his last public appearance in
June, as protests for racial justice
swept the United States and
the world.
With reporting by Will Dunham/
Reuters
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