ATLANTA — Thousands of people have lined the streets of downtown Atlanta to say thank you to the late Rep. John Lewis as he lies in state at the Georgia State Capitol.
Following several days of remembrances in Alabama and Washington, D.C., Lewis’ body returned to his longtime home of Atlanta on Wednesday, where he represented Georgia’s 5th District for more than 30 years.
Stay with Channel 2 Action News for complete coverage of John Lewis’ homecoming. We’ll have LIVE coverage of Lewis’ funeral on Thursday on Channel 2 Action News and streaming on WSB Now on our mobile devices, as well as Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire.
Lewis will lie in state in the rotunda of the Gold Dome until Thursday morning, ahead of his funeral.
Channel 2′s Nicole Carr spoke to some of the hundreds of people that turned out at the capitol to pay their respects to Lewis.
“I just love the movement. I really do. So, I get emotional because I want my kids to be a part of that,” one woman said, who did not identify herself.
For many lining the streets around the capitol, Lewis was someone they had admired from afar.
“He was the conscious of America,” Dave Martin said.
RELATED STORIES:
- Rep. John Lewis: Atlanta’s 2-day celebration of life for civil rights hero begins
- PHOTOS: Rep. John Lewis arrives in Atlanta for homecoming at Capitol
- Motorcade carrying the late Rep. John Lewis stops at several landmarks on its way to Gold Dome
“It’s deeply personal. There was a close connection to Lewis and the ones he loved,” former colleague Sue Ross said.
Ross’ first boss was Lillian Lewis, the late congressman’s wife who died in 2012.
Ross told Carr that said she was an intern in the late 1960s at the Trevor Arnett Library in the Atlanta University Center, and Mrs. Lewis was the librarian.
“She was a wonderful mother and kind of the backbone behind John and all of his races and just a terrific woman,” Ross said. “Working in Andy (Young’s) administration when John was in, that was a magical time.”
Ross would go onto work in Atlanta City Hall as Lewis’ political career began in the early ’80s.
“In his early years, could you imagine his ascent?” Carr asked Ross.
“No. He was still the ‘Boy from Troy,’ but now he belongs to the nation and the world,” Ross said.
Mourners also added their signatures to a life-size sympathy card. The card is in the care of Bruce Griggs.
“He never felt like he didn’t have time for people. So, if there was ever a picture under Webster’s (dictionary) that meant humble, it would be my friend and my mentor Congressman John Lewis,” Griggs said.
Lewis worked with Griggs’ Operation Correct Start Street Academy beginning in 1995. Lewis even hosted some of the program’s youth at his office in Washington, D.C.
“But now we’re going to change the name to the John Lewis Youth Ranch for Kids — and it almost chokes me up,” Griggs said.
However the connection, close or distant, mourners said there’s also a commitment to keep in Lewis’ honor.
“We’re going to get in some good trouble and vote in his honor,” Ross said.
This browser does not support the video element.