theguardian--2020-07-18--Barack Obama leads tributes to civil rights leader John Lewis – live

Donald Trump hasn ’ t commented on John Lewis yet – at the White House , pool reporters have been loaded into vans , bound for an undisclosed location that experience would suggest might be his golf course in Sterling , Virginia .
Trump was awake after news of Lewis ’ s death broke – and he did tweet .
But it was a short message for a Fox News personality who sat in for Sean Hannity .
So it goes .
The president has no public events scheduled on Saturday but he does seem to be smarting a little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News Sunday , an interview due for broadcast tomorrow but which provided embarrassment for the president on Friday .
In short , Trump claimed Joe Biden , his opponent in November , supported efforts to defund the police .
Wallace , one of the sharpest questioners on TV , pointed out that Biden does not .
Trump insisted he did , and called for a copy of a policy compact Biden agreed with Bernie Sanders this week .
In Wallace ’ s words , the president then “ went through it and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he objected to that Biden has agreed to , but couldn ’ t find any indication , because there isn ’ t any , that Joe Biden has sought to defund and abolish the police.
” As footage trailed by Fox News rippled out across the airwaves , Trump tweeted what might almost seem a concession : “ Corrupt Joe Biden wants to defund our police .
He may use different words , but when you look at his pact with Crazy Bernie , and other things , that ’ s what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America !
” As Joan E Greve pointed out from Washington , such attempts to paint Biden as an extreme liberal do not seem to be working : polls show voters view the challenger as more of a moderate than the president .
Here ’ s the full report , containing the released interview clip :

18 Jul 2020 22.13 BST Major League Baseball is moving full speed ahead with a shortened 60-game season to to be played in every club’s home ballpark starting on Thursday, but those plans just became more complicated for Canada’s lone team. The Associated Press reports the Blue Jays won’t be permitted to play games in Toronto because Canada’s government doesn’t think it’s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States, which has emerged as the hotspot of the coronavirus globally. Immigration minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told the Associated Press ahead of the announcement. The team had been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play in its home stadium and was awaiting approval from Canadas federal government. The other 29 Major League Baseball teams plan to play in their home ballparks, without spectators, when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins on July 23. Mendicino told the AP frequent travel to the US, where Covid-19 cases are surging, was the biggest issue. “There were serious risks if we proceeded with the regular-season proposal of the MLB and the Jays and therefore we concluded it was not in the national interest,” Mendicino said.” I get that some people will disappointed but this decision can’t be taken as a fan. It is taken on behalf of the health and safety of Canadians.” The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call. The team’s alternate site for home games is its training facility in Dunedin, Florida, which is among the states that are virus hotspots. Players have said they preferred to play in Toronto, and the team said it is in the process of finalizing a home location for the season. The grim realities of the coronavirus outbreak have prompted a number of star players, including former Cy Young award winners David Price of LA Dodgers and Felix Hernandez of the Atlanta Braves, to opt out of playing the 2020 season entirely, claiming the health risks aren’t worth it for a two-month season. The Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, who is playing, described his hesitation surrounding MLB’s restart plan earlier this month.
“We’re trying to bring baseball back during a pandemic that’s killed 130,000 people,” Doolittle said. “We’re way worse off as a country than we were in March when we shut this thing down. And, like, look where the other developed countries are in their response to this. We haven’t done any of the things that other countries have done to bring sports back. “Sports are like the reward of a functioning society. And we’re trying to just bring it back, even though we’ve taken none of the steps to flatten the curve.” Sports are returning to America before we've earned them | Bryan Armen Graham Read more
Updated at 22.18 BST
18 Jul 2020 21.49 BST WHO reports record rise in cases globally led by US The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Saturday, with the total rising by 259,848 in 24 hours.
The biggest increases were recorded in the United States (with 71,484 confirmed cases, its biggest single-day increase to date), followed by Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report.
The previous WHO record for new cases worldwide was 237,743 on Friday.
Deaths rose by 7,360, the biggest one-day increase since 10 May.
Updated at 21.50 BST
18 Jul 2020 21.19 BST Health officials in Arizona have reported a daily record of 147 coronavirus deaths and 2,742 new confirmed cases. Authorities said the additional deaths included 106 newly attributed to Covid-19 after the department of health’s latest periodic reviews of death certificates. The additional deaths and cases reported Saturday increased the statewide confirmed totals to 2,730 deaths and 141,265 infections. Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey, lifted stay-home orders and other restrictions in May before reversing course last month and authorizing local governments to impose masking requirements. Arizona governor Doug Ducey fields questions from reporters during a news conference about the coronavirus on Thursday in Phoenix. Photograph: Cheryl Evans/AP
Updated at 21.40 BST
18 Jul 2020 20.52 BST Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, said tests administered in his state on Friday aiming to detect Covid-19 antibodies showed a 16.1% positive rate.
Having antibodies indicates that a person has had the virus at some point. “That is a significant jump from where we were about a month and a half ago,” DeSantis said during a press conference on Saturday. “So there’s a bigger pool of people who have the antibody,” he said. “If you don’t have symptoms but you think [...] you have been exposed to the virus in the past, the antibody test is probably a better test than the diagnostic test. [...] If you have the antibodies, that’s information that you can take with you,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis also urged citizens who have recovered from the virus to consider donating blood for scientific trials involving convalescent plasma. Coronavirus cases in Florida have surged in recent weeks. On Saturday, Florida reported a total of 337,569 virus cases and 4,895 deaths. Florida made headlines with a record number of deaths among residents on Thursday, but both deaths and cases began to decline over the last two days. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has refused calls to impose a statewide face mask mandate despite record numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths in the state in recent days. Photograph: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Updated at 20.56 BST
18 Jul 2020 20.34 BST Marco Rubio joined the chorus of tributes to civil rights hero and Democratic congressman John Lewis, writing on Twitter: “It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with JohnLewis a genuine & historic American hero.” The Florida senator failed to stick the landing, however, by attaching a photo of himself standing next to former Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings. The tweet has since been deleted. Florida senator Marco Rubio commemorated the passing of John Lewis by posting a photo of him standing with Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings. pic.twitter.com/opfliq0KNh — Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) July 18, 2020 One imagines the mistake will be blamed on the real enemy in Washington: the low-level staffer. Update: Rubio has since corrected the error, sharing a video of a Martin Luther King Day event where he and Lewis both appeared three years ago.
Updated at 20.45 BST
18 Jul 2020 20.10 BST New York City police say the super-sized Black Lives Matter mural painted outside Trump Tower in Manhattan has been vandalized for the second time in a week. The Associated Press reports: Surveillance video showed three people smearing blue paint on the Fifth Avenue mural while a woman littered it with flyers around 4 p.m. Friday, police said. Officers found the trio near the mural a short time later with blue paint on their hands and clothing, police said. They were arrested, charged with criminal mischief and released with a order to appear in court at a later date. The woman, 64, was issued a criminal court summons for illegal posting of flyers. Meanwhile, police are continuing to look for a man in black shorts and a dark blue T-shirt who was seen splashing red paint on the mural around noon on Monday. The words “Black Lives Matter” have been painted on streets in New York and elsewhere in recent weeks to show support for the movement demanding justice and reforms after the recent police killings of George Floyd and other Black people. The New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, took part in painting the mural earlier this month, a week after Donald Trump tweeted it would be “denigrating this luxury Avenue”. Paint thrown by protesters is seen on the Black Lives Matter mural outside of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters An image of Davell Gardner Jr, 1, who was shot and killed in Brooklyn, is seen on the Black Lives Matter mural outside of Trump Tower. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Updated at 20.57 BST
18 Jul 2020 19.59 BST Demonstrators gathered outside Donald Trump’s golf club in Virginia once more on Saturday in what’s become a regular assembly as the president’s twice-weekly visits have continued. Today marked Trump’s eighth trip to his Loudoun county property in the past 28 days. A truck displays a sign of protest as the presidential motorcade arrives on Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Demonstrators gather outside Trump National Golf Club on Saturday in Sterling, Virginia. Photograph: Alexander Drago/Reuters A supporter of Donald Trump holds a sign beside opponents of the president on Saturday outside the Trump National Golf Club. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
Updated at 20.58 BST
18 Jul 2020 19.25 BST Donald Trump has broken his silence on the passing of John Lewis with a tweet posted moments ago. “Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing,” he wrote. “Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family. Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2020 The US president finally commented on the civil rights hero and longtime Democratic congressman shortly after his motorcade departed Trump National Golf Course at 1.45pm following a four-and-a-half-hour visit to hit the links, according to the White House press pool. Trump did issue a boilerplate proclamation for flags to be flown at half-mast at the White House and public buildings earlier Saturday but had otherwise yet to comment on Lewis. Today in Virginia, the president is playing golf with Sen. Lindsey Graham among others. @nbcnews video taken at extreme distance. Clip here. pic.twitter.com/mhrb0qQ7TQ — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) July 18, 2020 Today’s pool reporter said they are unable to confirm an NBC News report that Trump is golfing with South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham.
Updated at 20.49 BST
18 Jul 2020 18.25 BST Oprah Winfrey interviewed John Lewis last week, shortly before his death. She has posted a video of the conversation on Twitter. Last week when there were false rumors of Congressman John Lewis’ passing, Gayle and I called and were able to speak with him. He sounded weak but was surprisingly more alert than we expected. pic.twitter.com/8kRRDMTvFm — Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) July 18, 2020
18 Jul 2020 18.11 BST Tom McCarthy In early June, the United States awoke from a months-long nightmare. Coronavirus had brutalized the north-east, with New York City alone recording more than 20,000 deaths, the bodies piling up in refrigerated trucks. Thousands sheltered at home. Rice, flour and toilet paper ran out. Millions of jobs disappeared. But then the national curve flattened, governors declared success and patrons returned to restaurants, bars and beaches. “We are winning the fight against the invisible enemy,” vice-president Mike Pence wrote in a 16 June op-ed, titled, “There isn’t a coronavirus ‘second wave’.” Except, in truth, the nightmare was not over – the country was not awake – and a new wave of cases was gathering with terrifying force. As Pence was writing, the virus was spreading across the American south and interior, finding thousands of untouched communities and infecting millions of new bodies. Except for the precipitous drop in New York cases, the curve was not flat at all. It was surging, in line with epidemiological predictions. Now, four months into the pandemic, with test results delayed, contact tracing scarce, protective equipment dwindling and emergency rooms once again filling, the United States finds itself in a fight for its life: swamped by partisanship, mistrustful of science, engulfed in mask wars and led by a president whose incompetence is rivaled only by his indifference to Americans’ suffering. With flu season on the horizon and Donald Trump demanding that millions of students return to school in the fall – not to mention a presidential election quickly approaching – the country appears at risk of being torn apart. “I feel like it’s March all over again,” said William Hanage, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. “There is no way in which a large number of cases of disease, and indeed a large number of deaths, are going to be avoided.” The problem facing the United States is plain. New cases nationally are up a remarkable 50% over the last two weeks and the daily death toll is up 42% over the same period. Cases are on the rise in 40 out of 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Last week America recorded more than 75,000 new cases daily – five times the rate of all Europe. “We are unfortunately seeing more higher daily case numbers than we’ve ever seen, even exceeding pre-lockdown times,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The number of new cases that occur each day in the US are greater than we’ve yet experienced. So this is obviously a very worrisome direction that we’re headed in.” You can read the full article below: 'The virus doesn't care about excuses': US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges Read more


theguardian--2020-07-18--John Lewis, US civil rights hero and Democratic congressman, dies at 80

John Lewis , the civil rights hero and Democratic congressman , has died at the age of 80 .
On Friday night , the House speaker , Nancy Pelosi , confirmed Lewis had died .
He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer .
Barack Obama , the first African American president , said Lewis “ loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise ” .
Lewis campaigned for civil rights to the very end of his life .
Obama also said it was “ fitting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public forum was at a virtual town hall with a gathering of young activists who were helping to lead this summer ’ s demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd ’ s death ” .
Born to sharecroppers in Troy , Alabama , in February 1940 , Lewis became a prominent leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s .
He joined the Freedom Rides that began in 1961 , traveling to the south by bus to fight segregation on interstate buses .
A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1963 and helped organise the March on Washington , when Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “ I have a dream ” speech .
Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the “ Big Six ” civil rights activists , a group led by King .
When he attended Obama ’ s inauguration in January 2009 , he was the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington .
Obama presented Lewis with a commemorative photograph signed “ Because of you , John .
Barack Obama.
” In 2011 he awarded Lewis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Selma , Alabama , in 1965 , as activists tried to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge , Lewis was walking at the head of the march with his hands tucked in the pockets of his overcoat when he was knocked to the ground and beaten by police .
His skull was fractured .
Nationally televised images of the brutality forced attention on racial oppression in the south .
That incident , along with other beatings during peaceful protests , left Lewis with physical scars for the rest of his life .
Within days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
President Lyndon B Johnson soon was pressing Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act .
The bill became law later that year , removing barriers that had barred black people from voting .
Lewis was elected congressman for Georgia ’ s fifth district in 1987 and held the office until his death .
He announced he was being treated for stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December last year .
“ I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom , equality , basic human rights – for nearly my entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.
” On Friday , Obama said : “ I first met John when I was in law school , and I told him then that he was one of my heroes .
Years later , when I was elected a US senator , I told him that I stood on his shoulders .
When I was elected president of the United States , I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was sworn in and told him I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made .
“ And through all those years , he never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me and Michelle and our family .
We will miss him dearly .
“ It ’ s fitting that the last time John and I shared a public forum was at a virtual town hall with a gathering of young activists who were helping to lead this summer ’ s demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd ’ s death .
“ Afterwards , I spoke to him privately , and he could not have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him that all those young people – of every race , from every background and gender and sexual orientation – they were his children .
They had learned from his example , even if they didn ’ t know it.
” Bernice King , the daughter of Martin Luther King , paid tribute , saying Lewis fought “ the good fight ” .
Former president Bill Clinton said Lewis “ gave all he had to redeem America ’ s unmet promise of equality and justice for all ” and “ became the conscience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Every day of John Lewis ’ s life was dedicated to bringing freedom and justice to all .
As he declared 57 years ago during the March on Washington , standing in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial : ‘ Our minds , souls , and hearts can not rest until freedom and justice exist for all the people.
’ “ How fitting it is that even in the last weeks of his battle with cancer , John summoned the strength to visit the peaceful protests where the newest generation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take up the unfinished work of racial justice.
” In 2001 , Lewis boycotted the inauguration of George W Bush because he did not believe the Republican had fairly been awarded victory over the Democratic nominee , Al Gore .
On Friday night , the most senior Republican in Congress , Senate majority leader , Mitch McConnell , said Lewis was a “ pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism ” .
“ Congressman Lewis ’ place among the giants of American history was secure before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” McConnell said .
“ You did not need to agree with John on many policy details to be awed by his life .
“ Dr King famously said ‘ the arc of the moral universe is long , but it bends toward justice ’ … Our great nation ’ s history has only bent towards justice because great men like John Lewis took it upon themselves to help bend it .
Our nation will never forget this American hero.
” Late last year , a spokesperson for Lewis said the congressman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil rights era and he had been arrested several other times since , including in 2013 at a rally for immigration reform .
Even while ill earlier this year and unable to work on Capitol Hill , Lewis continued to speak out and expressed hope that Black Lives Matter protests would lead to real change .
In early June , he said that while he had “ been down this road before ” in seeing large-scale protests erupting against systemic racism , this time gave him hope .
“ As a nation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to get there .
We ’ re going to make it , ” he told NBC in an interview .
Despite the fact he was clearly ailing , he appeared to be signaling to a new generation of leaders .
“ We ’ re going to survive and there will be no turning back , ” he said .

Daniel Strauss in Washington and Naaman Zhou

John Lewis, the civil rights leader and Democratic congressman, has died. He was 80.
On Friday night, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, confirmed Lewis’s death. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Barack Obama, the first African American president, said Lewis “loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise”.
Lewis campaigned for civil rights to the very end of his life. Obama said it was “fitting that the last time John and I shared a public forum was at a virtual town hall with a gathering of young activists who were helping to lead this summer’s demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death”.
Born to sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama, in February 1940, Lewis became a prominent leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He joined the Freedom Rides that began in 1961, traveling to the south by bus to fight segregation on interstate buses.
A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, he became its chair in 1963 and helped organise the March on Washington, when Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I have a dream” speech.
John Lewis, front with arms folded, in Selma in 1965. Photograph: Anonymous/AP
In Selma, Alabama, in 1965, as activists tried to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge, Lewis was walking at the head of the march with his hands tucked in the pockets of his overcoat when he was knocked to the ground and beaten by police. His skull was fractured. Nationally televised images of the brutality forced attention on racial oppression in the south. That incident, along with other beatings during peaceful protests, left Lewis with scars for the rest of his life.
Within days, King led more marches in Alabama. President Lyndon B Johnson soon was pressing Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, which became law later that year.
Lewis was elected in Georgia’s fifth district in 1987 and held the office until his death. He announced his stage four pancreatic cancer in December last year.
“I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life,” he said. “I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.”
The youngest and last survivor of the “Big Six” civil rights activists, a group led by King, when Lewis attended Obama’s inauguration in January 2009 he was the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington. Obama presented him with a commemorative photograph signed, “Because of you, John. Barack Obama.” In 2011 he awarded Lewis the presidential medal of freedom.
On Friday, Obama said: “I first met John when I was in law school, and I told him then that he was one of my heroes. Years later, when I was elected a US senator, I told him that I stood on his shoulders. When I was elected president of the United States, I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was sworn in and told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made.
“And through all those years, he never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me and Michelle and our family. We will miss him dearly.
“It’s fitting that the last time John and I shared a public forum was at a virtual town hall with a gathering of young activists who were helping to lead this summer’s demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“Afterwards, I spoke to him privately, and he could not have been prouder of their efforts … I told him that all those young people – of every race, from every background and gender and sexual orientation – they were his children. They had learned from his example, even if they didn’t know it.”
Barack Obama walks alongside Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches in Selma, Alabama. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Former president Bill Clinton said Lewis “gave all he had to redeem America’s unmet promise of equality and justice for all” and “became the conscience of the nation”.
Former president Jimmy Carter saluted Lewis for making “an indelible mark on history through his quest to make our nation more just”.
Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, said Lewis fought “the good fight”.
Pelosi, who ordered US flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff, said: “Every day of John Lewis’s life was dedicated to bringing freedom and justice to all. As he declared 57 years ago during the March on Washington, standing in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial: ‘Our minds, souls and hearts cannot rest until freedom and justice exist for all the people.’
“How fitting it is that even in the last weeks of his battle with cancer, John summoned the strength to visit the peaceful protests where the newest generation of Americans had poured into the streets to take up the unfinished work of racial justice.”
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said: “John’s life reminds us that the most powerful symbol of what it means to be an American is what we do with the time we have to make real the promise of our nation – that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally.”
In 2001, Lewis boycotted the inauguration of George W Bush because he did not believe he had fairly been awarded victory over Al Gore. Bush released a statement on Saturday morning, saying Lewis “worked to make our country a more perfect union”.
“America can best honor John’s memory by continuing his journey toward liberty and justice for all,” Bush wrote.
Lewis also skipped the inauguration of Donald Trump, the current Republican president, of whom he became a fierce critic. Trump was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday. In a proclamation, he ordered flags at the White House and all federal buildings, embassies and military installations to be flown at half-staff, “as a mark of respect for [Lewis’s] memory and longstanding public service”.
On Twitter, Trump said he was “saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.”
The most senior Republican in Congress, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, said Lewis was a “pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism”.
“Congressman Lewis’ place among the giants of American history was secure before his career in Congress had even begun,” McConnell said. “You did not need to agree with John on many policy details to be awed by his life.”
Late last year, a spokesperson for Lewis said the congressman had been arrested 40 times in the civil rights era and several times since, including in 2013 at a rally for immigration reform.
Even while ill, Lewis continued to speak out, expressing hope that Black Lives Matter protests would lead to real change. In early June, he said that while he had “been down this road before”, this time gave him hope.
“As a nation, and as a people, we’re going to get there. We’re going to make it,” he told NBC.
Clearly ailing, he appeared to be signaling to a new generation of leaders.
“We’re going to survive and there will be no turning back,” he said.


theguardian--2020-07-18--Civil rights activist and politician John Lewis – a life in pictures

The civil rights leader John Lewis , known at the ‘ conscience of America ’ , has died .
Born @ @ @ @ @ Alabama on 21 February 1940 , he attended segregated public schools and , inspired by @ @ @ @ @ King Jr , became active in the civil rights movement .
From university onwards he @ @ @ @ @ counters , took part in the Freedom Rides , was chair of the Student Non-Violent @ @ @ @ @ key speaker at the historic March on Washington in 1963 .
He led one of @ @ @ @ @ civil rights movement , a march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma , Alabama @ @ @ @ @ state troopers .

The civil rights leader John Lewis, known at the ‘conscience of America’, has died. Born the son of sharecroppers in Alabama on 21 February 1940, he attended segregated public schools and, inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr, became active in the civil rights movement. From university onwards he organised sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, took part in the Freedom Rides, was chair of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and was a key speaker at the historic March on Washington in 1963. He led one of the pivotal moments in the civil rights movement, a march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama that was brutally attacked by state troopers.


John Lewis obituary

The life of the US congressman John Lewis , who has died aged 80 after suffering from pancreatic cancer , is a paradigm for the history of race relations in the US over those eight decades .
Born into segregation , Lewis took a leadership role in civil rights protest as a young man , and was at the heart of many of the most crucial , and dangerous , events in that movement .
He was beaten by the Ku Klux Klan and by the police , jailed repeatedly , and continually forced to move forward while ignoring friendly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard against the apartheid legislated in large parts of America .
As the changes for which he battled came into being , he found himself elected to the US House of Representatives , where he served in leadership positions , and was called “ the conscience of Congress ” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
And while he saw a black man elected president , he then watched as many of his movement ’ s hard-fought gains were walked back by reactionary judges , senators and , indeed , a president .
A leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was arrested multiple times while organising sit-ins against the city ’ s segregated restaurants and bus services .
In 1960 , along with a similar student group in Greensboro , North Carolina , he and Nashville colleagues Diane Nash and Marion Barry ( a future mayor of Washington ) were at the heart of the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC , pronounced “ Snick ” ) , encouraged by Martin Luther King ’ s Southern Christian Leadership Conference , but more committed to widespread student-led local action .
Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader Stokely Carmichael and the future Georgia politician Julian Bond , from Morehouse College , in Atlanta .
Lewis was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders , organised by the Congress of Racial Equality ( Core ) .
Because interstate bus travel was regulated by federal law , which prohibited segregation , the riders looked to force the issue while travelling through southern states in 1961 .
While trying to use whites-only facilities in a bus station in Rock Hill , South Carolina , Lewis became the first rider assaulted , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The entire group was attacked in Anniston , Alabama , other buses were set upon and one firebombed .
When the Core leader James Farmer moved to discontinue the rides because of the violence , Lewis , Nash and their Nashville group took them over .
Lewis eventually spent 40 days in jail in Mississippi , while the attorney general , Robert Kennedy , called for a “ cooling-off ” period and a halt to the rides .
Becoming chairman of SNCC in 1963 made Lewis one of the “ big six ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where King delivered his “ I Have a Dream ” speech .
Lewis dropped a key line – “ which side is our government on ?
” – from his own speech , persuaded by the other leaders not to risk offending the Kennedy administration .
But the following year , Lewis was at the forefront , literally , of SNCC ’ s leadership of the Mississippi Freedom Summer , which saw the murders of the civil rights workers James Chaney , Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman in Neshoba county .
In 1965 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom marchers across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma , Alabama , where they were attacked by state troopers , police and bystanders .
The scenes of violence were broadcast across the country , with Lewis bloodied by a baton that fractured his skull .
The television interview he gave calling on President Lyndon Johnson to take action could be seen as the crucial moment in winning public support for equal rights .
Lewis left SNCC in 1966 and became chairman of the Voter Education Project , aimed at registering minority voters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seat in Atlanta vacated by Andrew Young when he became Jimmy Carter ’ s ambassador to the United Nations , but he lost the Democratic primary to Wyche Fowler , and instead joined the Carter administration ’ s Action programme , uniting a number of volunteer schemes including Vista , the domestic version of the Peace Corps .
He was elected to the Atlanta city council in 1981 , and in 1986 , when Fowler left the House to run for the US Senate , Lewis staged a bitter primary fight to replace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , downplaying the latter ’ s civil rights activism and accusing him of corruption and drug use .
Lewis won the primary in an upset , then easily took the election in what is a safe Democratic seat .
He was re-elected 16 times , never with less than 69 % of the vote , running unopposed six times .
Considered one of Congress ’ s most liberal Democrats , he remained fiercely independent .
He voted against the first Iraq war , boycotted the inauguration of George W Bush , whose election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida , and similarly refused to attend Donald Trump ’ s inauguration in 2016 .
But he also gave Bush his vote for the emergency powers resolution after the 9/11 attack , though he later called for Bush ’ s impeachment for abusing those powers .
Ironically , it was Bush who in 2003 signed into law a bill Lewis had introduced every year since he entered Congress , to establish a Museum of African American History in Washington .
His opposition to policy was bipartisan .
He also clashed with Bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the North American free trade agreement .
Never losing his belief in the power of protest , he was arrested twice at the Sudanese embassy demonstrating against genocide in Darfur , and once outside Congress calling for immigration reform .
He led a 26-hour sit-in in the House when the Senate refused to take action on gun control following a 2016 mass shooting in Orlando .
He endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president in 2008 , but in February switched his support to Barack Obama , calling his candidacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After Obama ’ s election , Lewis was asked if this were the fulfilment of King ’ s dream .
He replied : “ It ’ s just a down payment.
” He again endorsed Hillary in 2016 , with an ad hominem attack on her rival Bernie Sanders , saying that during his time as chair of SNCC from 1963 to 1965 , “ I never saw him , I never met him ... but I met Hillary Clinton ” .
This was controversial as Sanders was arrested in 1963 for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while Hillary at that time was still at school and a supporter of the “ states rights ” Republican Barry Goldwater .
Lewis was born in Troy , Alabama .
His mother , Willie Mae ( nee Carter ) , and father , Eddie Lewis , were sharecroppers in rural Pike county ; Lewis often noted that as a small child he had only ever seen two white people .
He went to local country schools , then to the segregated Pike county vocational high school , where his studying was hampered by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s whites-only libraries .
Troy State University ( now Troy University ) was also whites-only , and all-black Morehouse College , where he hoped to study , was too expensive .
Considering an attempt to integrate Troy State , Lewis wrote to King , who forwarded the bus fare to Montgomery , Alabama .
This meeting with King and Ralph Abernathy ignited Lewis ’ s lifelong commitment to non-violent protest , but , on their advice , he enrolled at the American Baptist Theological Seminary ( now the American Baptist College ) in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could help pay for his tuition .
Eventually , he transferred and took his degree in religion and philosophy at nearby Fisk University .
Lewis ’ s 1998 autobiography Walking With the Wind ( written with Michael D ’ Orso ) was followed by a 2012 memoir , Across That Bridge ( written with Brenda Jones ) .
He had huge success with a best-selling graphic novel trilogy , March ( 2013-17 ) , co-written with Andrew Aydin , which has become a standard teaching tool about the civil rights movement .
Dawn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Good Trouble moves between the civil rights activism of the 1960s and footage of Lewis on the campaign trail for the 2018 midterm elections .
The “ good trouble ” insistence on the need for non-violent struggle against injustice and shaky institutions remains a constant , notably in relation to voter suppression , a main issue , particularly in Georgia , for the 2020 elections .
Lewis ’ s philosophy might be summed up in a question he asked while opposing Bill Clinton ’ s neoliberal welfare “ reform ” bill in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of decency ?
What does it profit a great nation to conquer the world , only to lose its soul ?
” That he lived to see Confederate monuments topple as a vast majority of the nation rose in protest supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after the police murder of George Floyd was a tribute to his life of struggle .
His wife , Lillian Mills , whom he met at a New Year ’ s Eve party and married in 1968 , died in 2012 .
He is survived by his @ @ @ @

The life of the US congressman John Lewis, who has died aged 80 after suffering from pancreatic cancer, is a paradigm for the history of race relations in the US over those eight decades. Born into segregation, Lewis took a leadership role in civil rights protest as a young man, and was at the heart of many of the most crucial, and dangerous, events in that movement. He was beaten by the Ku Klux Klan and by the police, jailed repeatedly, and continually forced to move forward while ignoring friendly voices warning him not to push too hard against the apartheid legislated in large parts of America.
As the changes for which he battled came into being, he found himself elected to the US House of Representatives, where he also served in leadership positions, and was called “the conscience of Congress” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And while he saw a black man elected president, he then watched as many of his movement’s hard-fought gains were walked back by reactionary judges, senators and, indeed, a president.
Right at the start of his campaigning career, as one of the leaders of the Nashville Student Movement in Tennessee, Lewis was arrested multiple times while organising sit-ins against the city’s segregated restaurants and bus services. In 1960, along with a similar student group in Greensboro, North Carolina, he and Nashville colleagues Diane Nash and Marion Barry (a future mayor of Washington) were at the heart of the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced “Snick”), encouraged by Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, but more committed to widespread student-led local action. Other SNCC leaders included the future black power leader Stokely Carmichael and the future Georgia politician Julian Bond, from Morehouse College, in Atlanta.
Lewis was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders, organised by the Congress of Racial Equality (Core). Because interstate bus travel was regulated by federal law, which prohibited segregation, the riders looked to force the issue while travelling through southern states in 1961. While trying to use whites-only facilities in a bus station in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Lewis became the first rider assaulted, as two men beat and kicked him.
John Lewis, far left, Martin Luther King, fourth from left, and other civil rights leaders on the March on Washington in August 1963. Photograph: Arnie Sachs/REX/Shutterstock
The entire group was attacked in Anniston, Alabama, other buses were set upon and one firebombed. When the Core leader James Farmer moved to discontinue the rides because of the violence, Lewis, Nash and their Nashville group took them over. Lewis eventually spent 40 days in jail in Mississippi, while the attorney general, Robert Kennedy, called for a “cooling-off” period and a halt to the rides.
Becoming chairman of SNCC in 1963 made Lewis one of the “big six” organisers of the March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Lewis dropped a key line – “which side is our government on?” – from his own speech, persuaded by the other leaders not to risk offending the Kennedy administration. But the following year, Lewis was at the forefront, literally, of SNCC’s leadership of the Mississippi Freedom Summer, which saw the murders of the civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman in Neshoba county.
In 1965, Lewis and Hosea Williams led the freedom marchers across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, where they were attacked by state troopers, police and bystanders. The scenes of violence were broadcast across the country, with Lewis bloodied by a baton that fractured his skull. The television interview he gave calling on President Lyndon Johnson to take action could be seen as the crucial moment in winning public support for equal rights.
Lewis left SNCC in 1966 and became chairman of the Voter Education Project, aimed at registering minority voters. In 1977 he ran for the congressional seat in Atlanta vacated by Andrew Young when he became Jimmy Carter’s ambassador to the United Nations, but he lost the Democratic primary to Wyche Fowler, and instead joined the Carter administration’s Action programme, uniting a number of volunteer schemes including Vista, the domestic version of the Peace Corps. He was elected to the Atlanta city council in 1981, and in 1986, when Fowler left the House to run for the US Senate, Lewis staged a bitter primary fight to replace him against his old colleague, Bond, downplaying the latter’s civil rights activism and accusing him of corruption and drug use.
John Lewis and Barack Obama at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on 7 March 1965, when campaigners led by Lewis were attacked at the Edmund Pettus bridge. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Lewis won the primary in an upset, then easily took the election in what is a safe Democratic seat. He was re-elected 16 times, never with less than 69% of the vote, running unopposed six times. Considered one of Congress’s most liberal Democrats, he remained fiercely independent. He voted against the first Iraq war, boycotted the inauguration of George W Bush, whose election he considered illegitimate due to voter fraud in Florida, and similarly refused to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2016.
But he also gave Bush his vote for the emergency powers resolution after the 9/11 attack, though he later called for Bush’s impeachment for abusing those powers. Ironically, it was Bush who in 2003 signed into law a bill Lewis had introduced every year since he entered Congress, to establish a Museum of African American History in Washington. His opposition to policy was bipartisan. He also clashed with Bill Clinton a number of times, including over the North American free trade agreement.
Never losing his belief in the power of protest, he was arrested twice at the Sudanese embassy demonstrating against genocide in Darfur, and once outside Congress calling for immigration reform. He led a 26-hour sit-in in the House when the Senate refused to take action on gun control following a 2016 mass shooting in Orlando.
He endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, but in February switched his support to Barack Obama, calling his candidacy “a great leap” for America. After Obama’s election, Lewis was asked if this were the fulfilment of King’s dream. He replied: “It’s just a down payment.”
He again endorsed Hillary in 2016, with an ad hominem attack on her rival Bernie Sanders, saying that during his time as chair of SNCC from 1963 to 1965, “I never saw him, I never met him ... but I met Hillary Clinton”. This was controversial as Sanders was arrested in 1963 for leading civil rights protests in Chicago, while Hillary at that time was still at school and a supporter of the “states rights” Republican Barry Goldwater.
John was born in Troy, Alabama. His mother, Willie Mae (nee Carter), and father, Eddie Lewis, were sharecroppers in rural Pike county; John often noted that as a small child he had only ever seen two white people. He went to local country schools, then to the segregated Pike county vocational high school, where his studying was hampered by the lack of access to Troy’s whites-only libraries.
John Lewis holding a press conference in Washington in 2018 to demand that the Trump administration end its policy of separating the families of immigrants detained on their arrival in the US. Photograph: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press Via Zuma Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Troy State University (now Troy University) was also whites-only, and all-black Morehouse College, where he hoped to study, was too expensive. Considering an attempt to integrate Troy State, Lewis wrote to King, who forwarded the bus fare to Montgomery, Alabama. This meeting with King and Ralph Abernathy ignited Lewis’s lifelong commitment to non-violent protest, but, on their advice, he enrolled at the American Baptist Theological Seminary (now the American Baptist College) in Nashville, where on-campus work could help pay for his tuition. Eventually, he transferred and took his degree in religion and philosophy at nearby Fisk University.
Lewis’s 1998 autobiography Walking With the Wind (written with Michael D’Orso) was followed by a 2012 memoir, Across That Bridge (written with Brenda Jones). He had huge success with a best-selling graphic novel trilogy, March (2013-17), co-written with Andrew Aydin, which has become a standard teaching tool about the civil rights movement.
Dawn Porter’s just-released documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble moves between the civil rights activism of the 1960s and footage of Lewis on the campaign trail for the 2018 midterm elections. The “good trouble” insistence on the need for non-violent struggle against injustice and shaky institutions remains a constant, notably in relation to voter suppression, a main issue, particularly in Georgia, for the 2020 elections.
Lewis’s philosophy might be summed up in a question he asked while opposing Bill Clinton’s neoliberal welfare “reform” bill in 1996: “Where is the sense of decency? What does it profit a great nation to conquer the world, only to lose its soul?” That he lived to see Confederate monuments topple as a vast majority of the nation rose in protest supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after the police murder of George Floyd was a tribute to his life of struggle.
His wife, Lillian Mills, whom he met at a New Year’s Eve party and married in 1968, died in 2012. He is survived by his son, John-Miles.
John Robert Lewis, politician and civil rights leader, born 21 February 1940; died 17 July 2020


theguardian--2020-07-18--John Lewis timeline: from poverty to civil rights leader

Born in rural Alabama during the dark days of Jim Crow segregation , representative John Lewis rose from poverty to become a leader of the civil rights movement and later was elected to congress .
Here is a timeline of some major events in Lewis life .
Born the son of black sharecroppers near Troy , Alabama .
Long interested in civil rights and inspired by the work of the Rev .
Martin Luther King Jr , Lewis participates in a series of workshops on nonviolent confrontation while attending college in Nashville , Tennessee .
He goes on to participate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landmark Freedom Rides of 1961 that tested racial segregation in the South .
Serving as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , Lewis arrives in Selma , Alabama , to help register black people to vote .
Eight months later and just days after helping Martin Luther King Jr. organize the March on Washington , Lewis is arrested for the first of more than 40 times , for civil rights activities in Selma .
Lewis is beaten by an Alabama state trooper while attempting to lead an estimated 600 voting rights marchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montgomery in an violent confrontation now known as Bloody Sunday .
He spends two days in a hospital .
Lewis joins thousands of others during the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march .
Lewis takes over as executive director of the Voter Education Project , a program of the Southern Regional Council .
Lewis , making his first bid for Congress in metro Atlanta , loses to a popular white politician in a runoff .
Later that year he is appointed by president Jimmy Carter to direct Action , a federal volunteer agency .
Lewis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election as a member of the Atlanta City Council , where he serves until 1986 .
Lewis is elected to Congress representing Georgias 5th district , which includes much of Atlanta .
He was re-elected 16 times , most recently without opposition in 2018 .
Only once did he receive less than 70 % of the vote .
Lewis receives the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement , one of a multitude of honors , including the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nations highest civilian honor , presented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lewis and four others are arrested in Washington during a demonstration at the embassy of Sudan , where they were protesting the expulsion of aid workers amid a humanitarian crisis .
Lewis joins Obama , former President George W. Bush and thousands of others in Selma at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday .
Lewis leads a Democratic sit-in on the House floor to protest inaction on gun control measures .
Lewis announces he has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer .
Lewis dies at the age of 80 .

Born in rural Alabama during the dark days of Jim Crow segregation, representative John Lewis rose from poverty to become a leader of the civil rights movement and later was elected to congress. Here is a timeline of some major events in Lewis life.
21 February, 1940
Born the son of black sharecroppers near Troy, Alabama.
1959
Long interested in civil rights and inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, Lewis participates in a series of workshops on nonviolent confrontation while attending college in Nashville, Tennessee. He goes on to participate in sit-ins, mass meetings and the landmark Freedom Rides of 1961 that tested racial segregation in the South.
January 1963
Serving as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis arrives in Selma, Alabama, to help register black people to vote. Eight months later and just days after helping Martin Luther King Jr. organize the March on Washington, Lewis is arrested for the first of more than 40 times, for civil rights activities in Selma.
John Lewis on the far left with other major American leaders of the black civil rights movement including Martin Luther King in 1963 in New York. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
7 March, 1965
Lewis is beaten by an Alabama state trooper while attempting to lead an estimated 600 voting rights marchers out of Selma on the way to Montgomery in an violent confrontation now known as Bloody Sunday. He spends two days in a hospital.
This video has been removed. This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. John Lewis remembers 'Bloody Sunday' in Selma – video report
21-25 March, 1965
Lewis joins thousands of others during the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.
1971
Lewis takes over as executive director of the Voter Education Project, a program of the Southern Regional Council.
5 April, 1977
Lewis, making his first bid for Congress in metro Atlanta, loses to a popular white politician in a runoff. Later that year he is appointed by president Jimmy Carter to direct Action, a federal volunteer agency.
6 October, 1981
Lewis wins his first political office with his election as a member of the Atlanta City Council, where he serves until 1986.
4 November, 1986
Lewis is elected to Congress representing Georgias 5th district, which includes much of Atlanta. He was re-elected 16 times, most recently without opposition in 2018. Only once did he receive less than 70% of the vote.
John Lewis is presented with the 2010 Medal of Freedom by president Barack Obama in 2011. Photograph: Alex Wong/AFP/Getty Images
2001
Lewis receives the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement, one of a multitude of honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, presented by President Barack Obama in 2011.
27 April, 2009
Lewis and four others are arrested in Washington during a demonstration at the embassy of Sudan, where they were protesting the expulsion of aid workers amid a humanitarian crisis.
8 March, 2015
Lewis joins Obama, former President George W. Bush and thousands of others in Selma at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
22 June, 2016
Lewis leads a Democratic sit-in on the House floor to protest inaction on gun control measures.
John Lewis sings along with house minority leader Nancy Pelosi and other Demcrats after their sit-in over gun-control law on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2016. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters
29 December, 2019
Lewis announces he has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
17 July, 2020
Lewis dies at the age of 80.


theguardian--2020-07-18--Trump’s embrace of Goya is another cynical attempt to use Hispanics as props | Joshua Rivera

At a White House event earlier this month , the president and chief executive of Goya Foods , Bob Unanue , said that Americans were “ truly blessed ” to have Donald Trump as president .
Republicans were thrilled .
Donald and Ivanka Trump , unbothered by ethical guidelines , wasted no time returning Unanue ’ s favor by posting photos on social media of the company ’ s products .
Republicans were also thrilled by the hostile reaction to Unanue ’ s remarks , which they see as political hay to argue that progressives are out of touch with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a sequence of events that ’ s bizarre yet strangely predictable .
As a brand , Goya is synonymous with the Spanish-speaking world .
It would only be a slight exaggeration to say that for Latinx people in America like myself , cooking with Goya ’ s vast array of foods and spices is a way of life .
It ’ s therefore an extremely useful brand for Trump to have aligned with his administration as he seeks re-election – and another front he can open in the culture war he prefers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For Trump and Republicans , Goya ’ s support is a massive , $ 1.5bn political prop that Trump can use to argue that he has Latin Americans on his side and that he supports them in turn .
( All the while ignoring the fact that the Unanue family is , in fact , from Spain . )
In this regard , Unanue is no different than Kanye West , Candace Owens or Diamond and Silk – a public relations opportunity to refute the idea that Trump ’ s administration is only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Suddenly , buying Goya is another way you can communicate that you support a president who supposedly supports all people , and another way you can accuse anyone engaging in a boycott of being an out-of-control liberal .
In some ways it ’ s amusing knowing that a non-white or Hispanic with a modicum of wealth or influence who is willing to give lip-service to conservatives can so easily influence them .
I imagine that , with a little less integrity and a well-chosen target , someone like me could triple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV appearance by singing modern conservatives ’ favorite tunes : about dangerous undocumented immigrants , the sanctity of statues or the chaos reigning in America ’ s cities .
In most ways , though , this is horribly bleak : when our political discourse is this easily swayed , it does not bode well for meaningful change .
The current rush on Goya products is , increasingly , the only sort of political action that the American conservative apparatus is interested in .
It is a politics of exhaustion : instead of advocating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in theater .
This is the latest in a series of childish taunts designed to elicit an emotional response that can then be mocked .
To those looking to trigger me with their carts and cupboards full of Goya products : I ’ m not sure what you want me to say ?
Happy eating – just make sure you make your own recaíto , because store-bought recaíto is trash .
But I have a feeling my culinary advice would just go to waste , because in order to make , say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to listen to someone who knows how to make one .
And to listen you have to care , which those in power demonstrably do not .
No one really does .
Power is not really interested in elevating the marginalized , because power has been explicitly gained through their marginalization .
This isn ’ t just about conservatives and Goya , it ’ s also about the reckoning in US media as it deals with a history of racism and inequity , continually reinforcing a wealthy white American perspective .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s about corporate diversity initiatives of every stripe .
Any effort to elevate perspectives of color without giving actual people of color power is about as effective and meaningful as Trump stacking beans on the Resolute Desk .
The dynamic is always transactional , and it is always a buyer ’ s market .
The Goya episode would be degrading at any time , but especially so during a pandemic that his killed over 130,000 Americans and is twice as deadly for Black and Latinx Americans due to racial and economic inequality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any virus has .
No one is going to help us ; we are not worth Goya ’ s $ 1.5bn .
It ’ s as clear as it ’ s always been : we have to find a way to save ourselves in spite of a government that actively gets in the way .
Figure out how to season those beans on your own .
• None Joshua Rivera is a writer and critic whose work has been featured in New York magazine , GQ , Entertainment Weekly and the Verge

At a White House event earlier this month, the president and chief executive of Goya Foods, Bob Unanue, said that Americans were “truly blessed” to have Donald Trump as president. Republicans were thrilled. Donald and Ivanka Trump, unbothered by ethical guidelines, wasted no time returning Unanue’s favor by posting photos on social media of the company’s products. Republicans were also thrilled by the hostile reaction to Unanue’s remarks, which they see as political hay to argue that progressives are out of touch with the American Hispanic community.
It’s a sequence of events that’s bizarre yet strangely predictable. As a brand, Goya is synonymous with the Spanish-speaking world. It would only be a slight exaggeration to say that for Latinx people in America like myself, cooking with Goya’s vast array of foods and spices is a way of life. It’s therefore an extremely useful brand for Trump to have aligned with his administration as he seeks re-election – and another front he can open in the culture war he prefers to stoke in lieu of governing.
For Trump and Republicans, Goya’s support is a massive, $1.5bn political prop that Trump can use to argue that he has Latin Americans on his side and that he supports them in turn. (All the while ignoring the fact that the Unanue family is, in fact, from Spain.) In this regard, Unanue is no different than Kanye West, Candace Owens or Diamond and Silk – a public relations opportunity to refute the idea that Trump’s administration is only interested in helping wealthy, conservative white people. Suddenly, buying Goya is another way you can communicate that you support a president who supposedly supports all people, and another way you can accuse anyone engaging in a boycott of being an out-of-control liberal.
When our political discourse is this easily swayed, it does not bode well for meaningful change
In some ways it’s amusing knowing that a non-white or Hispanic with a modicum of wealth or influence who is willing to give lip-service to conservatives can so easily influence them. I imagine that, with a little less integrity and a well-chosen target, someone like me could triple their follower count and perhaps score a TV appearance by singing modern conservatives’ favorite tunes: about dangerous undocumented immigrants, the sanctity of statues or the chaos reigning in America’s cities. In most ways, though, this is horribly bleak: when our political discourse is this easily swayed, it does not bode well for meaningful change.
The current rush on Goya products is, increasingly, the only sort of political action that the American conservative apparatus is interested in. It is a politics of exhaustion: instead of advocating for any real policy, officials engage in theater. This is the latest in a series of childish taunts designed to elicit an emotional response that can then be mocked. To those looking to trigger me with their carts and cupboards full of Goya products: I’m not sure what you want me to say? Happy eating – just make sure you make your own recaíto, because store-bought recaíto is trash.
But I have a feeling my culinary advice would just go to waste, because in order to make, say, a truly good guisado, you have to listen to someone who knows how to make one. And to listen you have to care, which those in power demonstrably do not. No one really does. Power is not really interested in elevating the marginalized, because power has been explicitly gained through their marginalization.
This isn’t just about conservatives and Goya, it’s also about the reckoning in US media as it deals with a history of racism and inequity, continually reinforcing a wealthy white American perspective. It’s about representation in Hollywood. It’s about corporate diversity initiatives of every stripe. Any effort to elevate perspectives of color without giving actual people of color power is about as effective and meaningful as Trump stacking beans on the Resolute Desk. The dynamic is always transactional, and it is always a buyer’s market.
The Goya episode would be degrading at any time, but especially so during a pandemic that his killed over 130,000 Americans and is twice as deadly for Black and Latinx Americans due to racial and economic inequality that has plagued the nation longer than any virus has. No one is going to help us; we are not worth Goya’s $1.5bn. It’s as clear as it’s always been: we have to find a way to save ourselves in spite of a government that actively gets in the way.
Figure out how to season those beans on your own.


theguardian--2020-07-18--Kanye West asks fans to help get him on South Carolina's presidential ballot

Kanye West has asked fans to sign a petition calling for him to be added to the presidential election ballot in South Carolina .
The rap superstar announced he was running for the White House on 4 July , tweeting : “ We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God , unifying our vision and building our future .
I am running for president of the United States.
” But doubts persist over how seriously to take his bid .
West , who has both expressed support for Donald Trump and said he has been diagnosed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ model his White House on a fictional land in the Black Panther superhero film , saying : “ Let ’ s get back to Wakanda.
” This week it emerged he has qualified to appear on the presidential ballot in Oklahoma after making Wednesday ’ s deadline to register as an independent candidate .
But it appears he missed the cut-off to run in South Carolina .
According to the Federal Election Commission ( FEC ) , that state also had a deadline of Wednesday .
Apparently hoping public opinion can sway officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re a voter in South Carolina , please sign this petition to place me on the ballot Sponsored by Ye 2020.
” The online petition is paid for by the Kanye 2020 political committee , which filed paperwork with the FEC this week , indicating West , who is married to the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West , is serious about running .
Ben Jacobs , a former Guardian reporter now filing for New York Magazine who has followed West ’ s moves closely , reported that the rapper started to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida before pulling back .
After missing the ballot deadline in the Sunshine state , West did file to be on the ballot in Oklahoma , which simply requires a check .
On Saturday , Jacobs reported that petitions were available to be signed in nine locations across South Carolina .
One host told the magazine people had been coming in “ off and on ” to sign the petition for West .
The Kanye 2020 committee has filed a statement organisation form , also known as FEC Form 1 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of candidacy , or FEC Form 2 .
That is filed when an individual has raised or spent more than $ 5,000 on campaign activity , triggering candidacy status .
No record of a Kanye 2020 FEC Form 2 appeared online as of Friday .

Kanye West has asked fans to sign a petition calling for him to be added to the presidential election ballot in South Carolina.
The rap superstar announced he was running for the White House on 4 July, tweeting: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”
But doubts persist over how seriously to take his bid.
West, who has both expressed support for Donald Trump and said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has said he will model his White House on a fictional land in the Black Panther superhero film, saying: “Let’s get back to Wakanda.”
This week it emerged he has qualified to appear on the presidential ballot in Oklahoma after making Wednesday’s deadline to register as an independent candidate. But it appears he missed the cut-off to run in South Carolina. According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), that state also had a deadline of Wednesday.
Apparently hoping public opinion can sway officials, he tweeted: “If you’re a voter in South Carolina, please sign this petition to place me on the ballot Sponsored by Ye 2020.”
If you're a voter in South Carolina, please sign this petition to place me on the ballot Sponsored by Ye 2020 https://t.co/ZURvTEW9ee pic.twitter.com/Z9tdq0eG9c — ye (@kanyewest) July 18, 2020
The online petition is paid for by the Kanye 2020 political committee, which filed paperwork with the FEC this week, indicating West, who is married to the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, is serious about running.
Ben Jacobs, a former Guardian reporter now filing for New York Magazine who has followed West’s moves closely, reported that the rapper started to make moves to get on the ballot in Florida before pulling back.
After missing the ballot deadline in the Sunshine state, West did file to be on the ballot in Oklahoma, which simply requires a check.
On Saturday, Jacobs reported that petitions were available to be signed in nine locations across South Carolina. One host told the magazine people had been coming in “off and on” to sign the petition for West.
The Kanye 2020 committee has filed a statement organisation form, also known as FEC Form 1. The next step would be filing a statement of candidacy, or FEC Form 2.
That is filed when an individual has raised or spent more than $5,000 on campaign activity, triggering candidacy status. No record of a Kanye 2020 FEC Form 2 appeared online as of Friday.


theguardian--2020-07-18--Barack Obama leads tributes to civil rights leader John Lewis – as it happened

In early June , the United States awoke from a months-long nightmare .
Coronavirus had brutalized the north-east , with New York City alone recording more than 20,000 deaths , the bodies piling up in refrigerated trucks .
Thousands sheltered at home .
Rice , flour and toilet paper ran out .
Millions of jobs disappeared .
But then the national curve flattened , governors declared success and patrons returned to restaurants , bars and beaches .
“ We are winning the fight against the invisible enemy , ” vice-president Mike Pence wrote in a 16 June op-ed , titled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus ‘ second wave ’ .
” Except , in truth , the nightmare was not over – the country was not awake – and a new wave of cases was gathering with terrifying force .
As Pence was writing , the virus was spreading across the American south and interior , finding thousands of untouched communities and infecting millions of new bodies .
Except for the precipitous drop in New York cases , the curve was not flat at all .
It was surging , in line with epidemiological predictions .
Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with test results delayed , contact tracing scarce , protective equipment dwindling and emergency rooms once again filling , the United States finds itself in a fight for its life : swamped by partisanship , mistrustful of science , engulfed in mask wars and led by a president whose incompetence is rivaled only by his indifference to Americans ’ suffering .
With flu season on the horizon and Donald Trump demanding that millions of students return to school in the fall – not to mention a presidential election quickly approaching – the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I feel like it ’ s March all over again , ” said William Hanage , a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health .
“ There is no way in which a large number of cases of disease , and indeed a large number of deaths , are going to be avoided.
” The problem facing the United States is plain .
New cases nationally are up a remarkable 50 % over the last two weeks and the daily death toll is up 42 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the rise in 40 out of 50 states , Washington DC and Puerto Rico .
Last week America recorded more than 75,000 new cases daily – five times the rate of all Europe .
“ We are unfortunately seeing more higher daily case numbers than we ’ ve ever seen , even exceeding pre-lockdown times , ” said Jennifer Nuzzo , an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security .
“ The number of new cases that occur each day in the US are greater than we ’ ve yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very worrisome direction that we ’ re headed in.
” You can read the full article below :

Bryan Armen Graham in New York, Tom Lutz  and Martin Pengelly


theguardian--2020-07-18--Trump reportedly seeks to block testing funds as Covid-19 surges across south and west

Covid-19 cases are surging across much of the American south and west , as familiar scenes of weary doctors and nurses in packed hospitals replay across a whole new region .
In Washington , Congress is gearing up to pass another economic stimulus package .
Optimistic economists once thought such a package could be unnecessary , but Covid-19 is now expected to continue to hurt the economy .
The White House is reportedly trying to hurt any resultant bill .
According to the Washington Post , the Trump administration is pushing to block billions of dollars for state-run testing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control and Prevention and attempts to combat the pandemic at the Pentagon and state department .
The US is now logging more than 70,000 new Covid-19 infections a day , according to Johns Hopkins University , up from a low of around 20,000 in early June .
Nearly 3.7 million people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and more than 139,000 have died since January , when the disease was first found in the US .
“ People continue to regard the virus as a political scheme or conspiracy theory , ” Dr Chad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mississippi , said in a Facebook post released by South Sunflower county hospital .
“ People continue to ignore recommended guidelines on how to help slow the virus ’ spread .
People continue to complain about wearing a mask .
We ’ ve got to do better as a community.
” Experts consider rising hospitalization rates a likely harbinger for a surge in US deaths , which as a lagging indicator , have remained relatively low .
In the last week , hospitals from Florida to southern California have filled with patients in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our ICU beds are full , ” Dr Risa Moriarity , the University of Mississippi medical center executive vice-chair , emergency medicine , told local news station WAPT .
“ We have patients in the emergency department who need ICU beds .
They ’ re on ventilators.
” At the same hospital , Dr Andy Wilhelm , the head of intensive care , told WAPT : “ When you ’ re on a hamster wheel , and a lot of people die , it ’ s tiring ” .
At Tampa general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the associate medical director , told the Washington Post : “ We can withstand a disaster .
But we can ’ t withstand a disaster every single day .
“ How many jumbo jet crashes can you handle before you run out of capacity ?
That ’ s what we ’ re facing.
” Florida officials are dealing with what appears to be an uncontrolled rise in infections .
“ It took us 100 days to reach the first thousand cases , ” said Patricia Boswell , a state department of health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Daytona Beach metro area , according to the Daytona News-Journal .
“ Then , it took 12 days to reach the second thousand cases .
Nine days to reach the third thousand cases , and six days later , to exceed 4,000 cases on 13 June .
In the past three days , we ’ ve had more than 600 cases reported in Volusia.
” Last spring , Congress approved the largest ever stimulus package , of $ 2.2tn in aid .
That money went to help flagging businesses shut down by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment an additional $ 600 a week .
Those unemployment benefits are expected to run out at the end of this month , if Congress does not act .
At the beginning of July , the unemployment rate was above 11 % , with 17.8 million out of work .
Republicans are demanding businesses receive liability protection from Covid-19-related injuries , as a part of the new aid package .
The Trump administration has provided mixed signals about what it would approve .
Trump himself has repeatedly claimed the US should do fewer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed .
On Saturday , Sam Hammond of the right-leaning thinktank the Niskanen Center , which has been working with Senate Republicans on testing legislation , told the Post such politicians knew cases were surging in many of their states .
“ Senate Republicans have asked for funding to help states purchase test kits in bulk , ” he said .
“ As it currently stands , the main bottleneck to a big ramp-up in testing is less technical than the White House ’ s own intransigence.
” Even amid the pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and national conventions , in line with the president ’ s desire for large crowds to cheer him on in the 2020 campaign .
Republicans in Texas are locked in a court battle to try to salvage the remainder of their state convention .
They had hoped to bring thousands to a convention center in Houston , currently one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the nation .
City officials cancelled the convention on the grounds it would become a “ super-spreader ” event .
Texas Republicans sued , and were blocked on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtual-only convention although delegates have arrived in the city , according to Bloomberg News .
The growing pandemic sets an ominous tone for the Republican National Convention , currently set to take place in Jacksonville , Florida , in late August .
It has already moved once .
Officials in Charlotte , North Carolina , barred the convention in their city , after Covid-19 cases began to rise .
In 2016 , 50,000 people flooded into Cleveland , Ohio , for the Republican convention .
Local officials will require masks at the Jacksonville @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced this week 7,000 people would be allowed to attend the largest event , Trump ’ s acceptance speech , the Washington Post reported .

Covid-19 cases are surging across much of the American south and west, as familiar scenes of weary doctors and nurses in packed hospitals replay across a whole new region.
In Washington, Congress is gearing up to pass another economic stimulus package. Optimistic economists once thought such a package could be unnecessary, but Covid-19 is now expected to continue to hurt the economy.
The White House is reportedly trying to hurt any resultant bill. According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration is pushing to block billions of dollars for state-run testing and tracing, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and attempts to combat the pandemic at the Pentagon and state department.
The US is now logging more than 70,000 new Covid-19 infections a day, according to Johns Hopkins University, up from a low of around 20,000 in early June.
Nearly 3.7 million people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and more than 139,000 have died since January, when the disease was first found in the US.
“People continue to regard the virus as a political scheme or conspiracy theory,” Dr Chad Dowell, a doctor in Indianola, Mississippi, said in a Facebook post released by South Sunflower county hospital.
“People continue to ignore recommended guidelines on how to help slow the virus’ spread. People continue to complain about wearing a mask. We’ve got to do better as a community.”
Experts consider rising hospitalization rates a likely harbinger for a surge in US deaths, which as a lagging indicator, have remained relatively low. In the last week, hospitals from Florida to southern California have filled with patients in need of intensive care.
“All of our ICU beds are full,” Dr Risa Moriarity, the University of Mississippi medical center executive vice-chair, emergency medicine, told local news station WAPT. “We have patients in the emergency department who need ICU beds. They’re on ventilators.”
7/11 States with high rates, high and rising test positivity: FL, TX, GA, LA, SC, AL, NV, ID. AZ stabilized at high rate. CA, UT and many others intermediate; CA population means large numbers. Reassuring so far but at risk: Northeast, WY, SD. HI and AK low with small increases. — Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) July 17, 2020
At the same hospital, Dr Andy Wilhelm, the head of intensive care, told WAPT: “When you’re on a hamster wheel, and a lot of people die, it’s tiring”.
At Tampa general hospital in Florida, Dr Jason Wilson, the associate medical director, told the Washington Post: “We can withstand a disaster. But we can’t withstand a disaster every single day.
“How many jumbo jet crashes can you handle before you run out of capacity? That’s what we’re facing.”
Florida officials are dealing with what appears to be an uncontrolled rise in infections.
“It took us 100 days to reach the first thousand cases,” said Patricia Boswell, a state department of health administrator in Volusia county, which encompasses the Daytona Beach metro area, according to the Daytona News-Journal.
“Then, it took 12 days to reach the second thousand cases. Nine days to reach the third thousand cases, and six days later, to exceed 4,000 cases on 13 June. In the past three days, we’ve had more than 600 cases reported in Volusia.”
Last spring, Congress approved the largest ever stimulus package, of $2.2tn in aid. That money went to help flagging businesses shut down by the pandemic, and gave people on unemployment an additional $600 a week.
Those unemployment benefits are expected to run out at the end of this month, if Congress does not act. At the beginning of July, the unemployment rate was above 11%, with 17.8 million out of work.
Republicans are demanding businesses receive liability protection from Covid-19-related injuries, as a part of the new aid package. The Trump administration has provided mixed signals about what it would approve.
Trump himself has repeatedly claimed the US should do fewer tests, so fewer cases will be confirmed.
On Saturday, Sam Hammond of the right-leaning thinktank the Niskanen Center, which has been working with Senate Republicans on testing legislation, told the Post such politicians knew cases were surging in many of their states.
“Senate Republicans have asked for funding to help states purchase test kits in bulk,” he said. “As it currently stands, the main bottleneck to a big ramp-up in testing is less technical than the White House’s own intransigence.”
The White House declined to comment.
Even amid the pandemic, Republicans are still hoping to hold local and national conventions, in line with the president’s desire for large crowds to cheer him on in the 2020 campaign.
Republicans in Texas are locked in a court battle to try to salvage the remainder of their state convention. They had hoped to bring thousands to a convention center in Houston, currently one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the nation.
City officials cancelled the convention on the grounds it would become a “super-spreader” event. Texas Republicans sued, and were blocked on appeal, to be left with a virtual-only convention although delegates have arrived in the city, according to Bloomberg News.
The growing pandemic sets an ominous tone for the Republican National Convention, currently set to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, in late August. It has already moved once.
Officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, barred the convention in their city, after Covid-19 cases began to rise. In 2016, 50,000 people flooded into Cleveland, Ohio, for the Republican convention.
Local officials will require masks at the Jacksonville convention, which will be scaled back. The Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced this week 7,000 people would be allowed to attend the largest event, Trump’s acceptance speech, the Washington Post reported.


theguardian--2020-07-18--John Lewis: Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey lead tributes to civil rights hero

Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey have led tributes from across US society to the civil rights leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis , who died on Friday evening at the age of 80 .
Lewis , who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer , dedicated his life to the fight for racial equality and justice and worked closely with Dr Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s , the high water mark of the civil rights movement in the US .
He became a congressman in 1987 .
“ He loved this country so much that he risked his life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live up to its promise , ” Obama wrote in a Medium post .
“ And through the decades , he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice , but inspired generations that followed to try to live up to his example.
” Winfrey released footage of Lewis speaking during a recorded conversation between the two last week .
Posting the footage , Winfrey wrote : “ He sounded weak but was surprisingly more alert than we expected .
I had a final chance to tell him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve been in his presence : ‘ Thank you for your courage leading the fight for freedom .
My life as it is would not have been possible without you.
’ “ I know for sure he heard me .
I felt good about that .
He understood and was so gracious.
” In the interview , shot to mark a CNN documentary entitled John Lewis : Good Trouble , the congressman said : “ I tried to do what was right , fair and just .
When I was growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always said , ‘ Boy , don ’ t get in trouble … but I saw those signs that said ‘ white ’ , ‘ colored ’ , and I would say , ‘ Why ?
’ “ And she would say again , ‘ Don ’ t get in trouble .
You will be beaten .
You will go to jail .
You may not live .
But … the words of Dr King and the actions of Rosa Parks inspired me to get in trouble .
And I ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trouble .
Necessary trouble.
” Lewis was a prominent figure in many key events of the civil rights era , prominent among them the March on Washington in 1963 and a voting rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma , Alabama , in 1965 on what would come to be known as Bloody Sunday .
State troopers attacked peaceful protesters with clubs and tear gas .
A police officer knocked Lewis to the ground and hit him in the head with a nightstick , then struck him again as he tried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testify in court .
Images of Lewis being beaten are some of the most enduring of the era .
Film of events in Selma was shown on national television , galvanizing support for the Voting Rights Act .
Pettus , for whom the bridge is named , was a slaveholding member of the Confederate army , a leader in the Klu Klux Klan and a man “ bent on preserving slavery and segregation ” , Smithsonian Magazine wrote .
A petition to change the name of the bridge to memorialize Lewis now has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the son of sharecroppers in Alabama but represented a Georgia district for 33 years in the US House of Representatives .
In one of his last public appearances , he walked a street in front of the White House in Washington painted with a Black Lives Matter mural , a tribute to a movement he saw as a continuation of his fight for racial equality .
Politicians paid tribute on Saturday , among them former presidents Bill Clinton , Jimmy Carter and George W Bush , House speaker Nancy Pelosi , Senate majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet and an order for flags to fly at half-staff , Donald Trump .
Ava DuVernay , the academy award-nominated director of the historical drama film Selma , a retelling of the 1965 march , wrote that she would “ never forget what you taught me and what you challenged me to be ” .
“ Better .
Stronger .
Bolder .
Braver .
God bless you , Ancestor John Robert Lewis of Troy , Alabama .
Run into His arms.
” Viola Davis , the first black actress to win a Tony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanked Lewis for his “ commitment to change ” and “ courage ” .
In one of Davis ’ s most famous roles , in the 2011 film The Help , she portrayed a maid in the Jim Crow south , a role she has since said catered to a white audience not “ ready for the truth ” about the black experience .
Stacey Abrams , who lost a race to become Georgia ’ s first black female governor after voting rolls were purged by her Republican opponent , called Lewis “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Abrams ’ organization Fair Fight continues to work to secure voting rights , a central demand of marchers in Selma .
Minister Bernice A King , the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King , said Lewis “ did , indeed , fight the good fight and get into a lot of good trouble ” , thereby ensuring he “ served God and humanity well ” .

Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey have led tributes from across US society to the civil rights leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis, who died on Friday evening at the age of 80.
Lewis, who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, dedicated his life to the fight for racial equality and justice and worked closely with Dr Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s, the high water mark of the civil rights movement in the US. He became a congressman in 1987.
“He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise,” Obama wrote in a Medium post. “And through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice, but inspired generations that followed to try to live up to his example.”
Winfrey released footage of Lewis speaking during a recorded conversation between the two last week. Posting the footage, Winfrey wrote: “He sounded weak but was surprisingly more alert than we expected. I had a final chance to tell him what I’ve said every time I’ve been in his presence: ‘Thank you for your courage leading the fight for freedom. My life as it is would not have been possible without you.’
“I know for sure he heard me. I felt good about that. He understood and was so gracious.”
In the interview, shot to mark a CNN documentary entitled John Lewis: Good Trouble, the congressman said: “I tried to do what was right, fair and just. When I was growing up in rural Alabama, my mother always said, ‘Boy, don’t get in trouble … but I saw those signs that said ‘white’, ‘colored’, and I would say, ‘Why?’
“And she would say again, ‘Don’t get in trouble. You will be beaten. You will go to jail. You may not live. But … the words of Dr King and the actions of Rosa Parks inspired me to get in trouble. And I’ve been getting in trouble ever since. Good trouble. Necessary trouble.”
Last week when there were false rumors of Congressman John Lewis’ passing, Gayle and I called and were able to speak with him. He sounded weak but was surprisingly more alert than we expected. pic.twitter.com/8kRRDMTvFm — Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) July 18, 2020
Lewis was a prominent figure in many key events of the civil rights era, prominent among them the March on Washington in 1963 and a voting rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 on what would come to be known as Bloody Sunday.
State troopers attacked peaceful protesters with clubs and tear gas. A police officer knocked Lewis to the ground and hit him in the head with a nightstick, then struck him again as he tried to get up, he would later testify in court.
Images of Lewis being beaten are some of the most enduring of the era. Film of events in Selma was shown on national television, galvanizing support for the Voting Rights Act.
Pettus, for whom the bridge is named, was a slaveholding member of the Confederate army, a leader in the Klu Klux Klan and a man “bent on preserving slavery and segregation”, Smithsonian Magazine wrote.
A petition to change the name of the bridge to memorialize Lewis now has more than 400,000 signatures.
Lewis was the son of sharecroppers in Alabama but represented a Georgia district for 33 years in the US House of Representatives. In one of his last public appearances, he walked a street in front of the White House in Washington painted with a Black Lives Matter mural, a tribute to a movement he saw as a continuation of his fight for racial equality.
Politicians paid tribute on Saturday, among them former presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W Bush, House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and, with a tweet and an order for flags to fly at half-staff, Donald Trump.
Ava DuVernay, the academy award-nominated director of the historical drama film Selma, a retelling of the 1965 march, wrote that she would “never forget what you taught me and what you challenged me to be”.
“Better. Stronger. Bolder. Braver. God bless you, Ancestor John Robert Lewis of Troy, Alabama. Run into His arms.”
Viola Davis, the first black actress to win a Tony, an Emmy and an Oscar, thanked Lewis for his “commitment to change” and “courage”. In one of Davis’s most famous roles, in the 2011 film The Help, she portrayed a maid in the Jim Crow south, a role she has since said catered to a white audience not “ready for the truth” about the black experience.
Stacey Abrams, who lost a race to become Georgia’s first black female governor after voting rolls were purged by her Republican opponent, called Lewis “a griot of this modern age”. Abrams’ organization Fair Fight continues to work to secure voting rights, a central demand of marchers in Selma.
Minister Bernice A King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, said Lewis “did, indeed, fight the good fight and get into a lot of good trouble”, thereby ensuring he “served God and humanity well”.