The body of civil rights leader and politician John Lewis has arrived in Washington DC, ahead of a week of ceremonies marking the life of the famed activist. Lewis died on July 17, aged 80 - the last surviving member of the Big Six, who together organized the 1963 March on Washington. He was among the original 13 Freedom Riders who rode buses across the South in 1961 to challenge segregation in public transportation. The riders were attacked and beaten, and one of their buses was firebombed. But the rides changed the way people traveled, and set the stage for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. From Monday Lewis will lie in state in the Capitol - the first black politician to receive one of the highest of American honors.
Joe and Jill Biden pay their respects to Rep John Lewis at the Capitol as the civil rights activist becomes first black lawmaker to lie in state in the Rotunda while guard of honor collapses in 96 degree heat
Representative John Lewis died on July 17 at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer
Lewis, born in Troy, Alabama, will lie in state from Monday in Washington, beneath the rotunda of the Capitol
July 28 - Joe and Jill Biden paid their respects to Rep. John Lewis at the Capitol in Washington DC on Monday as the famous civil rights activist became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state beneath the Rotunda.
Joe and Jill Biden pay their respects to Rep John Lewis at the Capitol as the civil rights activist becomes first black lawmaker to lie in state in the Rotunda while guard of honor collapses in 96 degree heat
Representative John Lewis died on July 17 at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer
Lewis, born in Troy, Alabama, will lie in state from Monday in Washington, beneath the rotunda of the Capitol
July 28 - Joe and Jill Biden paid their respects to Rep. John Lewis at the Capitol in Washington DC on Monday as the famous civil rights activist became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state beneath the Rotunda.
