Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Dead At 80: Mariah Carey, Barack Obama & More Pay Tribute
Civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis has passed away after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 80 years old.
“It is with inconsolable grief and enduring sadness that we announce the passing of US Rep. John Lewis,” his family said in a statement. “He was honored and respected as the conscience of the US Congress and an icon of American history, but we knew him as a loving father and brother. He was a stalwart champion in the on-going struggle to demand respect for the dignity and worth of every human being. He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He will be deeply missed.”
An activist and a visionary, Lewis had his skull fractured by Alabama state troopers in 1965 as he led about 600 protesters across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to fight for African Americans’ basic right to vote. He was also the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) listens during a news conference September 25, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Reps Lewis was joined by Demetrius Nash, who took a walk from Chicago to Washington, to discuss gun violence. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In December 2019, Lewis announced that he was undergoing treatment for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. “I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” he said in a statement at the time.
Following the tragic news of his death, celebrities and political figures, including Mariah Carey, Viola Davis, Amy Schumer and former President Barack Obama, shared poignant tributes to his life and extraordinary legacy of service.
