Barack Obama delivers his eulogy of John Lewis

4 years ago 256

2 min ago

John Lewis was perhaps MLK's "finest disciple," Obama says

Pool/CNN

Former President Barack Obama just started his eulogy for Rep. John Lewis.

"It is a great honor to be back at Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the pulpit of its greatest pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to pay my respects to perhaps his finest disciple," Obama said.

Obama said he owes "a great debt" to Lewis and his "forceful vision of freedom."

23 min ago

Former Atlanta mayor: "John wasn't on the right side of history, history was on the right side of John Lewis"

From CNN's Chris Boyette

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At the funeral service of Rep. John Lewis, Bill Campbell, former Atlanta mayor, remembered his "dear, loving and loyal friend," and described how the civil rights titan became a hero for individuals fighting multiple causes across the country.

“Virtually every news organization has hailed John as a civil rights hero. But John was a women's rights hero, a gay rights hero, a senior rights hero, a worker's hero and immigrant rights hero. John wasn't on the right side of history, history was on the right side of John Lewis," Campbell said.

"They say that the victors write history, and so I declare today that the history of the 20th century as it is written, John Lewis will stand beside Gandhi and King and Mandela, as one of the great transformative freedom fighters of human kind," the former mayor said.

Campbell said that during the last days of his life, Lewis spoke to him about the importance of voting in November, calling it the "most important election ever."

"And I promised him that with every fiber in my body I would tell everyone, if you truly want to honor this humble hero, make sure that you vote," Campbell said.

23 min ago

What was John Lewis like? "Just as you may imagine, but better," staffer says.

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Jamila Thompson, John Lewis' deputy chief of staff, said the late congressman was a "peaceful soul" who treated everyone on his staff — from senior staffers to interns — with respect.

"When he came into the office every single day, he would greet every staffer, every fellow, every intern with a 'good morning, sir,' 'good morning, ma'am.' He would end every request, every successful speech, every successful bill, every mark up with 'thank you,' 'thank you, young brother,' 'thank you, sister,' 'thank you, my child,'" Thompson said.

She said that when people asked what the congressman was like, she'd say, "He's just as you may imagine, but better."

Thompson remembered how the office joked about how much weight they gained after joining the staff because Lewis often brought in lunch — "and far, far too often dessert."

"In our office, there was the John Lewis 20," she said, adding that Lewis always wanted his staff to share meals.

"We were a little family," she said.

15 min ago

How John Lewis met his wife, as told by the woman who set them up

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Civil Rights leader Xernona Clayton described how she set John Lewis with his would-be wife, Lillian.

"Lillian was single, and so I decided that Lillian needed a good man, not just the bums who were approaching her," she said while speaking at Lewis' funeral. "I wanted her to have someone who really would appreciate her skills and her talent, so I looked around and decided that I liked John. But Lillian didn't like John, particularly,"

Clayton said Lillian moved too slowly for her tastes. She said she told her, "But Lillian, he's busy! He's fighting the evils of the world ... I said, 'Girl, listen. This boy is going places.'"

Clayton said one New Years Eve she invited both Lillian and John to a dinner party. They both assumed they were going to a big party — but when they got to Clayton's house, there was only room for three.

She said the two hit it off — very slowly.

"And finally, Lillian said, 'I do like him,'" Clayton said.

Lillian Miles Lewis died in 2012.

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5 min ago

Jimmy Carter: "John has been a blessing to countless people"

Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, read a letter from Former President Jimmy Carter at the funeral for civil rights icon John Lewis.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush already delivered remarks at the service. Former President Barack Obama is set to give Lewis' eulogy later during the funeral.

"Throughout his remarkable life, John has been a blessing to countless people," the letter from Carter read.

With Carter's letter, every living former US President is represented at Lewis' funeral.

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13 min ago

Rev. James Lawson: Lewis "practiced the politics" of the Constitution

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Activist and nonviolence advocate the Rev. James Lawson said Rep. John Lewis' politics were centered on the basics of American democracy.

"John Lewis practiced not the politics that we call bipartisan. John Lewis practiced the politics that we the people of the US need more desperately than ever before — the politics of the Declaration of Independence, the politics of the preamble to the Constitution of the United States," Lawson said while speaking at Lewis' funeral.

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1 hr 3 min ago

John Lewis had "an absolutely uncanny ability to heal troubled waters," Bill Clinton says

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Pool/CNN

Former President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Rep. John Lewis, outlining his life as a civil rights leader and reiterating Lewis’ call to action for the future.

“He got into a lot of good trouble along the way, but let's not forget he also developed an absolutely uncanny ability to heal troubled waters,” Clinton said. “When he could have been angry and determined to cancel his adversaries, he tried to get converts instead. He thought the open hand was better than the clenched fist.”

Clinton then referenced today’s op-ed by Lewis in The New York Times, which was sent two days before his death to be published on the day of his funeral. In the essay, Lewis called for Americans to "answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.”

“We got our last letter today on the pages of The New York Times: Keep moving. It is so fitting on the day of his service, he leaves us our marching orders. Keep moving,” Clinton said.

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1 hr 14 min ago

Lewis "insisted on the truth in the Congress of the United States," Nancy Pelosi says

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recalled the late John Lewis' presence in Congress as she spoke at his funeral. He served as the US representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District for more than three decades.

"He insisted on the truth in the Congress of the United States," Pelosi said.

Pelosi said Lewis brought his experience fighting for civil rights to Washington.

"When John Lewis served with us, he wanted us to see the civil rights movement and the rest through his eyes," she said.

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1 hr 23 min ago

George W. Bush: "We live in a better and nobler country today because of John Lewis"

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Pool/AP

Former President George W. Bush honored John Lewis in a speech at his funeral, saying that Lewis' "lesson for us it is that we must all keep ourselves ... open to hearing the call of love, the call of service and a call to sacrifice for others.”

Bush acknowledged that while they may have disagreed at times, Lewis upheld democracy as one of the most important tenets of America.

“John and I had our disagreements, of course. But in the America John Lewis fought for and the America I believe in, differences of opinion are inevitable elements and evidence of democracy in action,” Bush said.

“We live in a better and nobler country today because of John Lewis and his abiding faith in the power of God, in the power of democracy and in the power of love to lift us all to a higher ground. The story that began in Troy isn't ending here today, nor is the work,” he added.

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