A six-day memorial ceremony honoring the late Rep. John Lewis, a towering figure of the civil rights movement and longtime Georgia Democrat, will commence on Saturday, featuring stops in five cities that played key roles in his life and legacy.
A military honor guard will escort Lewis’ body across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma – where Lewis helped lead a march to Montgomery, Alabama, for voting rights in 1965 – and when he lies in state in Montgomery; Washington, DC; and Atlanta, according to a schedule from Lewis’ family.
The “Celebration of Life” ceremony, which will be livestreamed on several platforms, will also feature events in Troy, Alabama, where Lewis was born on a cotton farm into a segregated America in 1940, and at the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which marked the start of the march to Montgomery.
Lewis, who served as the US representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for more than three decades, was widely seen as a moral conscience of Congress because of his decades-long embodiment of nonviolent fight for civil rights. His passionate oratory was backed by a long record of action that included, by his count, more than 40 arrests while demonstrating against racial and social injustice.
A follower and colleague of Martin Luther King Jr., he participated in lunch counter sit-ins, joined the Freedom Riders in challenging segregated buses and – at the age of 23 – was a keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington.
Lewis’ family is urging well wishers to host at-home “John Lewis Virtual Love Events” to watch the ceremony, tie blue or purple ribbons to their front doors or yards to honor his life, and post virtual tributes to Lewis online.
Here is the schedule for the upcoming events commemorating Lewis, provided by his family:
“The Boy from Troy” – Saturday in Troy, Alabama, and Selma, Alabama
A Service Celebrating “The Boy from Troy”
Trojan Arena, Troy University
10 a.m. CT – 11 a.m. CT
Open to the public as space permits. The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
Congressman Lewis Lies in Repose
Trojan Arena, Troy University
11 a.m. CT – 2 p.m. CT
Open to the public. The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
Selma Salutes Congressman John Lewis
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church
6 p.m. CT – 8 p.m. CT
Congressman Lewis Lies in Repose
Brown Chapel A.ME. Church
8 p.m. CT – 11 p.m. CT
Open to the public. The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
“#Good Trouble: Courage, Sacrifice & the Long March for Freedom” – Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and Montgomery, Alabama
The Final Crossing
Edmund Pettus Bridge
10 a.m. CT
The public is invited to view the processional as it travels from Brown Chapel to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
Receiving Ceremony
Front Entrance Hall, Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery
2 p.m. CT
Congressman Lewis Lies in State
Alabama State Capitol
3 p.m. CT – 7 p.m. CT
Open to the public. The family kindly is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
“The Conscience of the Congress” – Monday and Tuesday in Washington, DC
Special Ceremony Proceeding the Lying in State
Rotunda, United States Capitol
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Congressman Lewis Lies in State
United States Capitol
3 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Open to the public. The family kindly is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
Lying in State
United States Capitol
Tuesday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
“Atlanta’s Servant Leader” – Wednesday in Atlanta
Special Ceremony Proceeding the Lying in State
Rotunda, Georgia State Capitol
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Congress Lewis Lies in State
Rotunda, Georgia State Capitol
3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
8 p.m. – 8 a.m.
Open to the public. The family is asking attendees to wear face and mouth coverings.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Omega Service
Rotunda, Georgia State Capitol
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
“A Lifetime of Service” – Thursday in Atlanta
A Celebration of Life
Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary
11 a.m.
Interment
South-View Cemetery
CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux, Lauren Fox, Faith Karimi and Brandon Griggs contributed to this report.
