(Washington) Icon, hero, giant: tributes multiplied Saturday after the death the day before of John Lewis, emblematic activist of non-violence and civil rights in the United States, former companion of Martin Luther King and since 1965, deceased at the age of 80 years.
Published on 18 July 2020 in 11 h 57
Michael Mathes
France Media Agency
This veteran of the African-American struggle has fought a fierce battle against racial discrimination all his life, and has been beaten by the police and arrested numerous times during protests.
“Few of us live to see our own legacy develop in such a remarkable and meaningful way. John Lewis did it, “said former President Barack Obama. The Democrat, who died of pancreatic cancer, “loved his country so much he risked his life for it,” he added.
Donald Trump said he was “saddened” by the death of this “civil rights hero”, in a laconic message illustrating the low esteem held for the one who boycotted his inauguration in January 2017. The president also ordered that the flags be half-masted on all public buildings, including the White House.
Previously, the spokesperson for the presidency, Kayleigh McEnany, hailed “an icon” leaving “a lasting legacy that will never be forgotten”.
Considered one of the most respected voices in the country for justice and equality, John Lewis had despite the illness returned to Washington in June, in full turmoil after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, to participate in the anti-racist mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The winds are blowing, the big change is coming,” he said a few days earlier.
Militant of the first hour
Son of sharecroppers, this indomitable activist has become 21 was one of the younger Freedom Riders who fought segregation in the American transportation system in the early years 57.
He was the youngest leader of the March on Washington in 1963, during which Martin Luther King gave his famous speech, “I have a dream”.
Two years later, John Lewis almost succumbed to police beatings on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he was leading a march of several hundred peaceful activists against racial discrimination. He had had a fractured skull.
PHOTO STEPHEN F. SOMERSTEIN
John Lewis (center) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, in March 1963
“John Lewis has truly become a giant by the examples he has shown us,” said the son of Pastor King on Saturday.
In 2011, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this “Bloody Sunday”, Lewis had passed the bridge, hand in hand with Barack Obama, the first black president in the history of the United States.
Calls are now increasing to rename this bridge to his name, which pays homage to a Confederate general and local leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American civilian honor, in 1986.
PHOTO ALEX WONG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Its former vice president, Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden, said he spoke to John Lewis just a few days ago.
“He asked us to stay focused on the work that remains to be done to heal this nation,” he said.
“Conscience of Congress”
John Lewis was born in Troy, Alabama, on 21 February 1940, third child of siblings of ten. Raised in an almost all-black community, he quickly became aware of segregation in this southern state in the United States.
He started by organizing sit-in at restaurant counters imposing racial segregation, and was arrested about twenty times during non-violent protests, before founding and later directing the Student Coordination Committee for Non-Violence violence.
Elected from Georgia since 1986, he embodied “the conscience of Congress”, according to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
Tributes also came from the republican camp.
Mitch McConnell, President of the Senate, praised this “pioneer of civil rights who did not hesitate to put his life at stake to fight racism, promote equal rights and place our nation in accordance with its founding principles ”.
Abroad, French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to a “hero” thanks to whom “so much progress has been achieved”.