“Today, America mourns the loss of one of the greatest heroes of American history: Congressman John Lewis, the Conscience of the Congress,” the California Democrat said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced his death in a statement. Live updates: Tributes flow for civil rights icon John Lewis Scott Applewhite) Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Imag 17 after complications from long-standing health problems. Cummings, a Democrat and chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, died Oct. Elijah Cummings, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct.

Martin Luther King Jr., as members of the Congressional Black Caucus gather for the memorial ceremony for the late Maryland Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the civil rights leader stands beneath a bust of Rev. It’s another heartbreak in a year filled with them, as America mourns the deaths of nearly 140,000 Americans from Covid-19 and struggles to bring the virus under control. The dual deaths of the civil rights icons come as the nation is still grappling with racial upheaval in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the nation. Lewis died on the same day as civil rights leader the Rev. He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He was a stalwart champion in the on-going struggle to demand respect for the dignity and worth of every human being. “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. John Lewis,” his family said in a statement.

“It is with inconsolable grief and enduring sadness that we announce the passing of U.S. John Robert Lewis, the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, to become a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime US congressman, has died after a six-month battle with cancer.

John lewis medal of dom