Minnesota Leaders Remember John Lewis' Voice, Persistence, And Legacy

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Rep. John Lewis, a Civil Rights leader and longtime congressman, passed away in Atlanta late Friday night.

In December of 2019, Lewis had announced he had stage-4 pancreatic cancer. He died at the age of 80.

Lewis changed lives across the United States, as one of the original Freedom Riders and as one of the men who led 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Officials in Minnesota remembered him well. Tim Walz, who served in Congress with Lewis, said "I will always be grateful to have served with John Lewis, a civil rights leader who never gave up on building a more fair, equal country. His heart, his ideas, and his legacy will forever be etched in history."

Attorney General Keith Ellison had also worked in Congress with Lewis.

In an article published on Medium, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she has always been in awe of Lewis' "persistence, his resilience, his faith that this country could be better, if only we put in the work."

Rep. Ilhan Omar posted tweet in which she called him a "moral voice for the whole nation."

Rep. Dean Phillips said he changed America."When he spoke, he commanded the Congress," he said.

Sen. Tina Smith also honored Lewis with one of his most famous quotes: "You must be bold, brave, and courageous and find a way... to get in the way."

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