Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also attend the funeral.
July 29, 2020, 10:49 PM
5 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleFormer President Barack Obama will eulogize the late Rep. John Lewis in a funeral service Thursday, wrapping up six days of memorials paying tribute to his life and his legacy as a civil rights icon.
Lewis, the son of Alabama sharecroppers, played an instrumental role in the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 and went on to serve more than three decades in Congress representing the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also attend the private funeral at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once led. Lewis will be buried in South View Cemetery in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon.
In this March 4, 2007, file photo, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talks to Congressman John Lewis during the 42nd Annual Commemoration of the 1965 Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March in Selma, Ala.
In this March 4, 2007, file photo, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talks to Congressman John Lewis during the 42nd Annual Commemoration of the 1965 Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March in Selma, Ala. Tami Chappell/Reuters, FILELewis died on July 17 at 80 after a months-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Funeral ceremonies began last Saturday in Lewis' hometown of Troy, Alabama. On Sunday in Selma, 55 years after he and other demonstrators were beaten on "Bloody Sunday," Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge for a final time. Where he was once met with batons, Lewis' casket saw salutes from state troopers.
A horse-drawn carriage carries the body of Rep. John Lewis through downtown Selma, Ala., before crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, July 26, 2020.
A horse-drawn carriage carries the body of Rep. John Lewis through downtown Selma, Ala., before crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, July 26, 2020. Nicole Craine/The New York Times via ReduxMembers of Congress, his family, staffers and the general public paid tribute to Lewis Monday and Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol in a socially distanced ceremony, an unprecedented outdoor public visitation and overnight vigil in the Rotunda.
Lewis has now lay in state at the Alabama State Capitol, Georgia State Capitol and the nation's Capitol, an honor reserved for the most-revered Americans.
Lewis' family has asked members of the public not to travel to pay their respects, citing coronavirus precautions. They instead have suggested people pay tribute online using the hashtags #BelovedCommunity and #HumanDignity.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus reach in and touch the flag-draped casket of the late Rep. John Lewis as he lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., July 27, 2020. Lewis if the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus reach in and touch the flag-draped casket of the late Rep. John Lewis as he lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., July 27, 2020. Lewis if the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda. Jonathan Ernst/Pool via Getty ImagesThursday's services will be live-streamed on ABC News Live.
ABC News' Janice McDonald contributed to this report.
