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John Robert Lewis
February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020
Johnell Caver Your Home for Funerals Remembers Civil Rights Leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis
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John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights leader. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020 and the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. The district he served includes the northern three-fourths of Atlanta.
Lewis, who as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was one of the “Big Six” leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington, played many key roles in the Civil Rights Movement and its actions to end legalized racial segregation in the United States. He was a member of the Democratic Party leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and had served from 1991 until death as a Chief Deputy Whip and Senior Chief Deputy Whip from 2003 to his death.
Lewis received many honorary degrees and awards from eminent national and international institutions, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Lewis died of cancer on July 17, 2020, aged 80.