Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights leader and Democratic congressman from Georgia, died Friday after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement. He was 80.
Lewis was an icon of the civil rights era who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. to organize non-violent marches and protests, including the 1963 March on Washington at which King gave his historic "I Have A Dream" speech. In 1965, Lewis led the famous march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol in Montgomery to demand voting rights for African Americans. When state troopers ordered the group of roughly 600 peaceful protesters to disperse, they stood their ground, and the troopers deployed violent tactics including tear gas and rubber tubing wrapped in barbed wire. Lewis was beaten by police and his skull fractured — an attack that was captured by television cameras and broadcast to the nation, "galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act," The New York Times writes. The act was passed eight days later.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks groundSpeed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resignsSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
