Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Civil Rights Legend Rep. John Lewis Dies at 80


Sat 18 Jul 2020 | 11:18 AM
Ahmad El-Assasy

John Robert Lewis, the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal police attack during a historic march in Selma, Alabama in 1965, to become a leading figure in the civil rights movement and a long-time US congressman, died after a six-month cancer battle. He was in his 80s.

"We announce the passing of US Rep. John Lewis with inconsolable sorrow and deep sadness," his family said in a statement.

"He was revered and respected as a US Congress conscience and an American history figure, but we knew him as a caring father and uncle."

In the ongoing struggle to claim respect for the dignity and integrity of every human being, he was a stalwart champion.

He devoted his whole life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in America's fight for equal justice. He will be profoundly missed.

Lewis died on the same day as Rev. Cordy Tindell "C.T." Vivian, the 95-year-old civil rights activist. The civil rights icons' dual deaths come as the country is still dealing with racial unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd 's death and ensuing Black Lives Matter demonstrations that have rocked the country.

It's another heartbreak in a year that 's filled with them, as America mourns the deaths of nearly 140,000 Covid-19 Americans and struggles to control the virus.

In a statement, House spokesman Nancy Pelosi announced his death.