• Get in Touch
  • Get in Touch with our Support!
  • Privacy Policy
Sunday, February 5, 2023
OvaNewsBlast.com
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
OvaNewsBlast.com
No Result
View All Result

Body of Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Crosses Selma Bridge

July 26, 2020
in Business
Reading Time: 2min read
A A
Body of Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Crosses Selma Bridge
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share ShareShareShareShareShare

By KIM CHANDLER
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — )The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon.

A crowd began gathering near the bridge that became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten there 55 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” a key event in the fight for voting rights for African Americans.

A horse-drawn hearse retraced the route through Selma from Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the 1965 march began. As the wagon approached the bridge, members of the crowd shouted “Thank you, John Lewis!” and “Good trouble,” the phrase Lewis used to describe his tangles with white authorities during the civil rights movement.

Some crowd members sang the gospel song “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Jesus.” Later, some onlookers sang the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” and other gospel tunes.

The hearse paused atop the bridge over the Alabama River as the cicadas sang in the summer heat. On the south side of the bridge, where Lewis was beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965, family members placed roses that the carriage rolled over, marking the spot where Lewis spilled his blood and suffered a head injury.

As a military honor guard lifted Lewis’ casket from the horse-drawn wagon into an automobile hearse, state troopers, including some African American ones, saluted Lewis.
Lewis’ body will be brought to the Alabama Capitol in the afternoon to lie in repose.

A series of events began Saturday in Lewis’ hometown of Troy, Alabama, to pay tribute the late congressman and his legacy. He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol next week before his private funeral Thursday at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once led.

A native of Pike County, Alabama, Lewis became involved in the civil rights movement as a young man.

In 1965, he and other marchers were beaten in Selma. The news coverage of the event help galvanize support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Frank and Ellen Hill drove more that four hours from Monroe, Louisiana, to watch the procession.

Frank Hill, 60, said he remembers, as an African American child, watching news footage of Lewis and other civil rights marchers being beaten by law enforcement officers.

“I had to come back and see John Lewis cross the bridge for the last time,” said Hill. It’s funny to see the state troopers here to honor and respect him rather than beat the crap out of him,” Hill said.

Lewis, 80, died July 17 several months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Pictured at top: The casket of Rep. John Lewis moves over the Edmund Pettus Bridge by horse drawn carriage during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday in Selma, Ala. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Credit: Source link

ShareTweetSendSharePinShare
Previous Post

Althea Gibson was a ’somebody,’ pioneer in women’s tennis – Sports – The Daily Telegram – Adrian, MI

Next Post

The Day – Education, business leaders explore how to diversify workforces

Next Post
The Day – Money for canceled spring college tour used for scholarships

The Day - Education, business leaders explore how to diversify workforces

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
The ABC’s of 2022 in Maryland and beyond: The news year remembered

The ABC’s of 2022 in Maryland and beyond: The news year remembered

December 20, 2022
Ranking the best halftime shows

Ranking the best halftime shows

February 2, 2023
SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Gabrielle Union Part of Ghana Travel Boom – The Hollywood Reporter

SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Gabrielle Union Part of Ghana Travel Boom – The Hollywood Reporter

December 29, 2022
“They Saw Mike and Threw Us Out”: Michael Jordan Was Once Chucked Out of a Pool for Being African American

“They Saw Mike and Threw Us Out”: Michael Jordan Was Once Chucked Out of a Pool for Being African American

October 1, 2022
From mean streets to Grand Slam tennis queen

From mean streets to Grand Slam tennis queen

August 28, 2022
MFAH Gordan Parks’ Stokely Carmichael and Black Power Exhibit

MFAH Gordan Parks’ Stokely Carmichael and Black Power Exhibit

February 5, 2023
Xavier Houston Alumni Mardi Gras Gala

Xavier Houston Alumni Mardi Gras Gala

February 5, 2023
Emmett Jay Scott

Emmett Jay Scott

February 5, 2023

Black History: Pains and Chains

February 5, 2023
We Real Cool – African American News and Issues

We Real Cool – African American News and Issues

February 5, 2023

Recent News

Streamer Clix Celebrates Top 50 Black Voices 2023

Streamer Clix Celebrates Top 50 Black Voices 2023

January 31, 2023
Breckenridge honors pioneering Black civil rights advocate and entrepreneur Barney Ford ahead of Black History Month

Breckenridge honors pioneering Black civil rights advocate and entrepreneur Barney Ford ahead of Black History Month

January 30, 2023
Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball details Adolph Rupp’s polarizing legacy at Kentucky

Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball details Adolph Rupp’s polarizing legacy at Kentucky

January 31, 2023
List: Black-owned businesses around Tampa Bay

List: Black-owned businesses around Tampa Bay

February 2, 2023
OvaNewsBlast.com

A reliable source for African American news, from a different lens. Yours. News about us, by us.

Follow Us

Recent News

MFAH Gordan Parks’ Stokely Carmichael and Black Power Exhibit

MFAH Gordan Parks’ Stokely Carmichael and Black Power Exhibit

February 5, 2023
Xavier Houston Alumni Mardi Gras Gala

Xavier Houston Alumni Mardi Gras Gala

February 5, 2023

Topics to cover !

  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • News
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Get in Touch
  • Get in Touch with our Support!
  • Privacy Policy

© 2020 ovanewsblast.com - All rights reserved!   Download Our App   Read News on odbnewsblast.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment

© 2020 ovanewsblast.com - All rights reserved!   Download Our App   Read News on odbnewsblast.com