An honor guard carried U.S. Rep. John Lewis' American flag-draped casket out of the Alabama state Capitol on Sunday evening.
A hush came over the crowd gathered at the nearby Bicentennial Park for a vigil in honor of the civil rights icon. As a lone voice sang "Amazing Grace," they watched the "boy from Troy" leave for the last time.
But the people assembled on the park's vibrant green grass stayed. For about 90 minutes, they honored the U.S. Congressman from Georgia and his lifelong fight for freedom and equality.
Rain drops fell as Bernice King stepped to the microphone to pay tribute to Lewis, who marched with her father. King, the daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the CEO of The King Center, praised Lewis for his sacrifice and dedication to the cause.
"John Lewis' life became a beacon of light showing us how to be the beloved community," King said. "He maintained the passionate stance for the good in the face of a resurgence of tangible racism in the corners of the nation's most hallowed government buildings and across the nation. He became a bridge to the beloved community."
King was one of several leaders the city of Montgomery brought together Sunday evening to honor Lewis, who died July 17 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, the first Black person to hold the seat, thanked the sprawling crowd for showing up as the sun began to sink over his city.
"I want to thank the Lewis family for sharing the Honorable John Robert Lewis with us for 80 years," Reed said.
Those in the park heard Fred Gray, the attorney of the civil rights movement and an Alabama native, tell stories about how he fought in court to support the work Lewis and others were doing in the streets. They also received encouragement from Bernard Lafayette, a Freedom Rider like Lewis.
"We have to understand that even though we made two steps forward there's no question that we've made at least three steps backward," Lafayette said. "We've got to keep on stepping."
Before Lafayette left the stage, he broke into song. Members of the crowd lifted their voices with his: "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around/I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'/Marchin' up to freedom land."
"That's where John is," Lafayette said.
Weekend of tributes for Lewis
The Sunday evening vigil capped a weekend of tributes in Lewis' native state.
Accompanied by an honor guard, the body of the civil rights giant traversed Alabama, making final stops in communities that served as the backdrop for some of the most definitive moments in Lewis' life.
On Saturday, the congressman's casket traveled through his birthplace of Troy, the home of a university and a public library that once denied him access to education and books because of the color of his skin.
The next day it crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where law enforcement beat Lewis bloody in 1965. His body then retraced the 54-mile march to Montgomery that he and thousands of other nonviolent activists made 55 years ago in a push for voting rights.
Lewis' funeral procession wound through Montgomery, passing by the city's former slave market and the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus and refused to give up her seat in 1955, before reaching the Alabama state Capitol.
All along the way, Alabama embraced its native son, representing a seismic shift in the world Lewis was born into and the one he left.
More must be done, activists say
Many who honored him throughout the weekend in Alabama shared their gratitude for the advancements in equality Lewis helped make happen. But they also recognized all the work that still needs to be done.
In an interview at the nearby Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, King said activists today can learn from Lewis and the nonviolent movement he was part of.
"I think it's important for them to learn that they were strategists and organizers," King said. "That everything that they did was pretty tactical."
As she addressed those gathered for the vigil, King called for Congress to restore and expand the Voting Rights Act in honor of Lewis and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, the other civil rights luminary to die on July 17.
Other speakers also highlighted the importance of voting, which was fitting given the motivation of the march from Selma to Montgomery more than a half-century ago. Latosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, was among them.
"What is it going to take America for you to recognize that the success and the health of your country is not based on how well the stock market is doing, but how well your people are doing?" Brown said.
The six-day tribute to Lewis continues Monday in Washington, D.C. Lewis’ body will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol through Tuesday before traveling to Atlanta for two final days of tributes.
Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.
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