SAN FRANCISCO—On Saturday, July 18, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the city of San Francisco honored civil rights activist and Congressmen John Lewis who died on Friday, July 17 at the age of 80 from pancreatic cancer. San Francisco City Hall was illuminated in red, white, and blue colors and the city’s flags were lowered to half-staff in his memory.
Rep. John Lewis was a civil rights icon with his legacy of racial and social activism spanning over half a century. He was one of the “Big Six” activists who helped organize the infamous 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He was the youngest and last surviving organizer of that march. Lewis also was one of the very first Freedom Riders, a group of people who stood up to racial segregation in public transportation in the southern part of the United States. Since 1987, Lewis served as the congressmen for Georgia’s fifth district, continuing to push for justice from his position in the House of Representatives.
Mayor Breed tweeted, “He put his whole life into fighting the injustices that have long plagued this country, and he never stopped demonstrating unparalleled strength, perseverance, and dignity. So many of us stand on his shoulders, and our hearts grieve for the loss of a true hero.”
