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SELMA, Ala. - The late U.S. Rep. and civil rights icon John Lewis crossed Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon.
A horse drawn carriage carrying the body of civil rights icon John Lewis crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. (Lynsey Weatherspoon/Getty Images)
A processional with Lewis’ casket was carried Sunday across the bridge where he and other civil rights marchers were beaten 55 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” a key event in the fight for voting rights for African Americans. Lewis will lie in repose at the Alabama Capitol on Sunday afternoon.
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.
SEE MORE: John Lewis funeral to be held at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist
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 helped galvanize support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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John Lewis: ‘Good troublemaker’ and tireless activist — a look at the life of the civil rights icon
Lewis’ family has asked members of the public not to travel from across the country to pay their respects. Instead, they suggested people pay virtual tribute online using the hashtags #BelovedCommunity or #HumanDignity.
Lewis, 80, died July 17 several months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Military pallbearers carry the body of Rep. John Lewis into Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church on July 25, 2020 in Selma, Alabama. (Lynsey Weatherspoon/Getty Images)