Home United States USA — mix Obama pays tribute to his 'hero' John Lewis: 'John's life was exceptional'

Obama pays tribute to his 'hero' John Lewis: 'John's life was exceptional'

248
0
SHARE

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday paid tribute to Rep. John Lewis and his « enormous impact » on America’s history, saying that his election as the first Black president was possible because of the sacrifices Lewis made.
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday paid tribute to Rep. John Lewis and his « enormous impact » on America’s history, saying that his election as the first Black president was possible because of the sacrifices Lewis made.
« I first met John when I was in law school, and I told him then that he was one of my heroes. Years later, when I was elected a U. S. Senator, I told him that I stood on his shoulders, » Obama wrote in a statement following Lewis’ death. « When I was elected President of the United States, I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was sworn in and told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made. »
Obama said Lewis « never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me » and former first lady Michelle, and their family. « We will miss him dearly, » he said.
Lewis, a Democrat who served as the US representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for more than three decades, died Friday at the age of 80 after a six-month battle with cancer.
Remembering John Lewis
He was a Freedom Rider in the early 1960s, a keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington, and helped lead a march in 1965 for voting rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he and other marchers were brutally beaten by police.

Continue reading...