Rep. John Lewis Remembered As Gentle Soul Who Fought Racism

ATLANTA, GA — Congressional and political leaders appeared on the Sunday morning talk shows to remember the late Rep. John Lewis for his civil rights activism and courage. Lewis, the last surviving member of the "Big Six" leaders of the 1960s civil rights movement, died Friday of pancreatic cancer at 80 years old.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on "CBS Sunday Morning" that Lewis, who was savagely beaten on several occasions and suffered a skull fracture in the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, was “tough as nails."

While Lewis was dogged in his pursuit of civil rights, he was also "a very gentle man in many ways," Powell said. "He will always be remembered as a man who did all he could. It’s all one country, all one people, and he helped pull it all together.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CBS that Lewis "was more than a historical figure, he’s the person you see in the grocery store, the church, around town. … What he instilled in all of us was just courage, to do the right thing and the right way to treat people.

The mayor said she was grateful for the late congressman's courage and leadership. She said it was not happenstance that his last public appearance was in May at the Black Lives Matter Plaza.

"He was reminding us that there is still so much to be done," Lance Bottoms said.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that the Voting Rights Advancement Act should be passed to honor Lewis. In December, the House Democrats passed the bill, which would restore certain sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act against racial discrimination that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.

The Senate, controlled by Republicans and with a legislative agenda set by Sen. Mitch McConnell, has not considered the bill.

"I have said this before, and I will say it again. The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy," Lewis said in a statement supporting the bill in 2019.

On "Meet The Press," Rep. James Clyburn, said. Lewis personified the goodness of his country, and "I do believe that is what the fight is all about now, restoring the goodness of America."

Clyburn echoed the need to replace the 1965 Voting Rights Act and said he plans to introduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2020.

"I think that Trump and the senate leadership, Mitch McConnell, if they truly celebrate the heroism of John Lewis, then let's go to work and pass the Voting Rights Act," Clyburn said. "Words may be powerful, but deeds are lasting. Let's have our election this year in honor of John Robert Lewis."

Related: Civil Rights Titan, Georgia Congressman John Lewis Dead At Age 80