John Lewis: A final day of tribute in Washington as some lawmakers push to honor legacy with voting rights bill

WASHINGTON – John Lewis will lie in state in the Capitol for a second day Tuesday, giving the general public time to pay respects to the civil rights icon and longtime lawmaker earlier than he is laid to relaxation in Georgia.

Public viewing will proceed from eight a.m. till 10 p.m.

Lewis will lie in state in Georgia’s capitol rotunda Wednesday earlier than his funeral in Atlanta on Thursday.

After a service in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Monday, Lewis’ casket was taken to the East Entrance Portico for public viewing.

Reta Cosby, a 68-year-old from Higher Marlboro, Maryland, was the primary in the road of a whole bunch who got here to pay their respects. She had arrived by midday Monday, when the solar was beaming and the temperature was in the 90s. Nonetheless, Cosby stated she’d woken up that morning and felt in her spirit that she had to come. By round 6:30 p.m., she led the road and walked up to the constructing to view the casket atop the steps.

“You don’t have the chance to see these icons,’’ stated Cosby, who years in the past joined civil rights marches in Oklahoma. “I simply felt this kindred bond… It was vital for me to be right here.”

As a result of of cautions in regards to the coronavirus, guests may solely stroll up to the underside of the Capitol’s East Entrance steps to say their goodbyes. There have been individuals of all ages and races. Some pushed walkers. Some got here in fits.

Terrence Jones, 37, a Birmingham native, stated he met Lewis years in the past in Atlanta and appreciated that they each had roots in the South.

“He was a really gracious man,’’ stated Jones, including that the go to was a historic second.

Others like Anise Jenkins, Joyce Robinson-Paul and Emma P. Ward appreciated Lewis’ assist for D.C. statehood in order that they got here to pay their respects.

“If he may have, he would have gotten us statehood,’’ stated Robinson-Paul.

Lawmakers strive to proceed Lewis’ work

As the general public companies proceed, Black lawmakers are calling on Congress to honor Lewis’ legacy by supporting laws that might restore a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., stated a bipartisan group of lawmakers must be designated to negotiate particulars.

“In order for you to honor his legacy, decide a `gang of eight’ and let’s go to work,” stated Richmond, former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “In the event that they’re critical. My intestine tells me they’re not.”

In December, with Lewis presiding over the vote, the Democratic-led Home handed voting rights laws that has not been taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate.

The bill, which the Home agreed Monday to identify after Lewis, would amend the 1965 regulation to create a brand new method of measuring if states require oversight for violating minority voting rights.

In 2013, the Supreme Courtroom dominated that regulation’s authentic formulation was unconstitutional.

Some Republicans have argued that oversight is not wanted.

Democrats have made voting rights a precedence. One of the primary measures they handed after taking management of the Home in the 2018 election would broaden voting rights.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, the Ohio Democrat who heads a Home subcommittee on elections, is holding a listening to Tuesday on voting rights in the U.S. territories.

She stated lawmakers who’re praising Lewis, want to “to put up or shut up.”

“They will’t proceed to give lip service and never assist what anyone like John stood for,” she stated.