Civil rights hero the late Rep. John Lewis crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge—which some activists want to rename in his honor—for the last time this Sunday, decades after the advocate and activist was met with violence from Alabama state troopers while attempting to peacefully march from Selma to Montgomery, now known as Bloody Sunday. Lewis was just 25-years-old that day, when he and about 600 other activists were marching for voting rights. “I really believe to this day that I saw death,” Lewis said to NPR of the incident years later, recalling, “I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick.” He survived and went on to become a national name, inspiration, and progressive leader. This July, at age 80, he died several months after being diagnosed with an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer.
Today, a horse-drawn caisson brought Lewis’s body across the bridge one final time. At the end of the bridge, family, as well as observers, waited to celebrate and honor his legacy. Videos and photos of the emotional memorial are quickly going viral on social media, as are people’s personal stories about how much Lewis meant to them. Central to everything? His incredible legacy for voting rights—and the reminder that voter suppression and disenfranchisement are real, ongoing issues across the nation.
“It’s funny to see the state troopers here to honor and respect him rather than beat the crap out of him,” said Frank Hill, who told the AP he drove several hours to watch today’s procession. Hill told the outlet he remembered watching news coverage from Bloody Sunday as a child, noting he now wanted to see “Lewis cross the bridge for the last time.”
Here are some moving videos and photographs, courtesy of Twitter.
People are also celebrating his legacy with words.
