John Lewis

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Obama: Nix the Filibuster, Pass Voting Rights Legislation

In first op-ed since leaving office, former president calls on Senate to 'do the right thing'

(Newser) - President Biden recently called for altering Senate rules if necessary to remove the obstacle of the filibuster so that voting rights legislation can be passed. Now, a big voice is joining in that same chorus. In what USA Today says is his first op-ed since leaving office in 2017, former...

Bezos Makes 2 Big Donations
Bezos Makes 2 Big Donations
Nov 22, 2021 1:00 PM CST

Bezos Makes 2 Big Donations

$100M donation from Amazon founder is largest Obama foundation has ever received

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s foundation announced Monday that it has received a $100 million donation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, which it says is the largest individual contribution it has received to date. The former president's foundation said in a statement that the gift from Bezos is intended "to...

John Lewis Observances Include Christening
Navy Christens
USNS John Lewis
Jul 17, 2021 5:30 PM CDT

Navy Christens USNS John Lewis

'Good Trouble' vigils planned across the country on the anniversary of civil rights icon's death

(Newser) - US Rep. John Lewis was remembered Saturday in word, song, calls to action, and, in San Diego, by christening a Navy ship named for him. "We miss him on this platform, but we will never be without him," actress Alfre Woodard said before christening the USNS John Lewis,...

Board Votes Against Renaming School to Honor Obama

John Lewis' name will now replace that of Jefferson

(Newser) - A middle school in Illinois is ditching the name of the third president—but it won't be taking the name of the 44th one. At a meeting Tuesday, the Waukegan Board of Education voted 5-2 in favor of renaming Thomas Jefferson Middle School after late civil rights icon Rep....

Georgia Lawmaker Punished for Attacking John Lewis

Tommy Benton opposes replacing statue of Confederate leader with one of the civil rights icon

(Newser) - "John Lewis, his only claim to fame was that he got conked on the head at the Pettus Bridge," a Georgia lawmaker said Thursday. "And he has milked that for 50 years—or he milked it for 50 years." Those comments, made on a radio show...

Trump Calls Obama's Eulogy for John Lewis 'Terrible'

And 'totally inappropriate'

(Newser) - Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade and President Trump gave their assessments of former President Barack Obama's eulogy for Rep. John Lewis , and it was essentially two thumbs down. Fox News reports the eulogy praised Lewis' efforts on the civil rights front, called for the strengthening of voting rights,...

'I Don't Know John Lewis': Trump Withholds Praise

President also brings up the fact that Lewis skipped his inauguration

(Newser) - President Trump's new interview with Axios on HBO is drawing attention not only for the president's condemnation of mail voting but for his comments on the late John Lewis. On the latter, Trump didn't criticize Lewis exactly, but he chose not to praise the congressman and civil...

Obama: John Lewis Is a Modern 'Founding Father'
Obama Gives Eulogy
for John Lewis
Jul 30, 2020 2:42 PM CDT

Obama Gives Eulogy for John Lewis

He will be a 'founding father' of a 'better America,' says former president

(Newser) - The nation's first Black president gave the eulogy Thursday for one of the civil rights fighters who made his path to the White House possible. In his address, Barack Obama said the late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia would be a "founding father" of a better America. Highlights:...

On Day of His Funeral, Final Words From John Lewis

Civil rights icon submitted essay to 'NYT' 2 days before he died

(Newser) - Barack Obama is expected to deliver a eulogy for John Lewis at the civil rights icon's funeral on Thursday, but one other big name has some final words as well: John Lewis himself. In an essay he sent to the New York Times two days before he died, with...

Lewis the First Black Lawmaker to Lie in State at Capitol

Civil rights leader honored by former colleagues

(Newser) - The body of the late Rep. John Lewis has arrived in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, where he will lie in state as lawmakers pay tribute to the long-time Georgia lawmaker and icon of the civil rights movement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation Monday to Joint Base...

Body of Civil Rights Icon Crosses Historic Bridge

A procession accompanies the body of Rep. John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge

(Newser) - The late US Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon, the AP reports. A crowd began gathering near the bridge that became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and...

'We All Know That John Got in Trouble'

Georgia congressman John Lewis is remembered in Alabama

(Newser) - Civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis was remembered Saturday—in the rural Alabama county where his story began—as a humble man who sprang from his family’s farm with a vision that "good trouble" could change the world, the AP reports. The morning service in...

John Lewis' Name Takes Over for Robert E. Lee's

Fairfax, Virginia, high school renamed after civil rights icon

(Newser) - One of the nation's many Robert E. Lee High Schools will soon no longer be named after the Confederate general. The Fairfax, Virginia, school will be re-named John R. Lewis High School, effective this school year, after a unanimous vote by the school board Thursday, USA Today reports. "...

Georgia Democrats Pick Replacement for John Lewis

Nikema Williams will face GOP reality star Angela Stanton-King in election

(Newser) - Georgia Democrats have selected state Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the state party, to replace Rep. John Lewis on the ballot in November. The executive committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia voted overwhelmingly on Monday for Williams to take Lewis’ spot on the ballot for the Atlanta-area 5th Congressional...

2 GOP Senators Honor the Wrong Black Congressman

Marco Rubio and Dan Sullivan post photos of Elijah Cummings instead of John Lewis

(Newser) - Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Dan Sullivan were so upset by the death of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis that they posted photos of themselves with ... the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, who is also a long-serving Democratic Black congressman, but quite a different person who died back in October...

14 Hours Later, Trump Responds
14 Hours Later,
Trump Responds
Jul 18, 2020 4:30 PM CDT

14 Hours Later, Trump Responds

The president and Rep. John Lewis didn't exactly get along

(Newser) - In the hours after the death of American civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, President Trump took to Twitter to retweet old missives about Democratic rival Joe Biden and lash out at his former national security adviser and his niece for writing tell-all books about him. Trump then headed to...

Remembering John Lewis: 'We Have Lost a Giant'

Tributes pour in from Obama, MLK Jr.'s family, and more

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered flags at the US Capitol to be flown at half-staff in honor of Rep. John Lewis, who died Friday at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Tributes and statements are now pouring in for the civil rights legend and longtime...

'Titan of Civil Rights Movement' John Lewis Dead at 80
The 'Conscience of
Congress' Has Died 
OBITUARY
Jul 18, 2020 5:28 AM CDT

The 'Conscience of Congress' Has Died

Congressman John Lewis, a giant in the civil rights movement, is gone at age 80 after cancer battle

(Newser) - John Lewis, the son of Alabama sharecroppers who became a giant in the civil rights movement, was arrested dozens of times in his fight for racial and social justice, and served 33 years in Congress, has died at the age of 80. The AP reports that Lewis' death was confirmed...

Rep. John Lewis: I Have Advanced Cancer

The 79-year-old Democrat says he's 'clear-eyed about the prognosis'

(Newser) - Congressman John Lewis of Georgia announced Sunday that he has advanced pancreatic cancer, vowing he will keep serving and fight the disease with the tenacity with which he battled racial discrimination and other inequalities dating to the civil rights era, the AP reports. Lewis, the youngest and last survivor of...

Civil Rights Giant Lewis in Hospital

Georgia rep fell ill on a flight back to Atlanta; expected to be released soon

(Newser) - Civil rights icon and Georgia Rep. John Lewis is in an Atlanta-area hospital after falling ill on a flight to his home state on Saturday, reports WSB-TV . "There is no cause for alarm," a spokeswoman told ABC News . "He will be fine. He's resting comfortably and...

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