Rep. John Lewis praised as ‘person of greatness’ in memorial service at U.S. Capitol

Members of Congress put partisanship aside on Monday and joined together to honor the life and legacy of John Lewis, the late Georgia lawmaker and titan of the civil rights movement as he became the first Black man ever to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Lewis, who died on July 17 after a long battle with cancer, was praised during the memorial service as a trailblazing icon who dedicated every minute of his life to fighting for justice, whether it was on the floor of the House of Representatives or on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.

“John was a person of greatness. He also was a person of great humility, always giving credit to others,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, standing before Lewis’ flag-draped casket, which was perched atop a catafalque in the center of the Rotunda.

Her voice filling up with tears, Pelosi recalled that one of Lewis’ final public pronouncements was cheering on the thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters who have crammed into city streets across the nation to demand racial justice and police reform in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.

“He understood the power of young people to change the future,” Pelosi said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a frequent target of criticism from Lewis, recalled that “even though the world around him gave him every cause for bitterness,” the Democratic congressman “stubbornly treated everyone with respect and love.”

“History only bent toward what’s right because people like John paid the price to help bend it,” McConnell said.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, lawmakers wore face masks and maintained at least six feet of social distancing through the service.

Notably absent was President Trump, who was traveling to Morrisville, N.C., to visit a research company that is helping manufacture one of the more promising vaccine candidates for COVID-19.

“I won’t be going, no,” Trump told reporters at the White House after he was asked if he would pay his respects to Lewis as he lies in state over the coming two days.

Lewis drew Trump’s ire early on by calling him an illegitimate president. Trump punched back by calling Lewis’ Atlanta-spanning congressional district “crime-infested” — a jibe that was widely viewed as racist.

Vice President Mike Pence planned to make a brief visit in Trump’s stead Monday afternoon, the White House said.

Contrary to Trump, Joe Biden showed up at the Capitol to honor Lewis.

The presumptive Democratic nominee, appearing with his wife, touched Lewis’ casket and held a private conversation with Pelosi before leaving.

Many of the lawmakers who gathered for the service wore masks with the words “Good Trouble” imprinted on them — a phrase popularized by Lewis in a 2015 speech.

One of the last-living associates of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lewis said in that speech that he made getting in “good trouble” his life’s quest, starting with his Freedom Rides through the segregated Jim Crow South during the 1960s in a courageous pursuit for racial justice and voting rights.

At the tail-end of her remarks at Monday’s memorial, Pelosi “yielded” to Lewis by having his famous 2015 speech play over a speaker.

“You must find a way to get in trouble — good trouble, necessary trouble,” Lewis’ voice boomed through the Rotunda.

As Lewis’ speech concluded, the gathered politicians erupted in a standing ovation.

Before the ceremony, a hearse carrying Lewis drove through the newly-renamed “Black Lives Matter” plaza near Capitol Hill, where hundreds of mask-clad mourners had gathered to honor the late congressman.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close friend of Lewis, said that the best way to honor his late colleague would be for Congress to pass The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, a measure that would restore a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.