John Lewis, the Civil Rights icon who marched for racial equality in the 1960s and served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1987, passed away today at the age of 80. Lewis had been fighting stage IV pancreatic cancer since December.
The congressman from Georgia was one of the original Freedom Riders and stood against racism, desegregation and discrimination his entire life — both in the streets and then later in Congress.
He helped organize, and spoke at, the famous 1963 March on Washington, and was arrested, jailed and beaten for challenging Jim Crow laws throughout the South. He was the last surviving member of the “Big Six” Civil Rights leaders, a group that included Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, A. Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young.
He was also an award-winning graphic novel writer.
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