Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis remembered

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - After days of tributes, funeral services were held in Atlanta on Thursday for longtime Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.

Speakers at his service included former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Former President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy.

Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80. In an essay that he asked to be published on the day of his funeral, Lewis urged others to continue to seek justice.

Lewis visited Burlington in 2007. Back then, he was a speaker at the University of Vermont graduation. He told the students to use their education to give back to their communities.

"Tomorrow, you must be prepared to roll up your sleeves because the world is waiting for talented men and women to lead it to a better place," he told the students in May 2007.

Lewis was known as the “Conscience of Congress.” The civil rights advocate worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

Related Story:

John Lewis mourned as ‘founding father’ of ‘better America’

Copyright 2020 WCAX. All rights reserved.