July 18 (UPI) -- Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader who worked to desegregate the Deep South and served in the House of Representatives for more than three decades, has died. He was 80.
His death comes several months after he revealed doctors were treating him for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed his death in a statement Friday.
"Today, America mourns the loss of one of the greatest heroes of American history: Congressman John Lewis, the Conscience of the Congress," she wrote.
"In the Congress, John Lewis was revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol. All of us were humbled to call Congressman Lewis a colleague, and are heartbroken by his passing. May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make 'good trouble, necessary trouble.'"
President Donald Trump ordered flags be flown at half staff in Lewis' honor.
Born Feb. 21, 1940, near Troy, Ala., Lewis grew up the son of sharecroppers with several siblings. He attended segregated schools, but learned of civil rights activism by listening to radio broadcasts of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
He joined the movement, organizing lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville and participating in Freedom Rides as a student at Fisk University. Lewis was severely beaten and arrested for his activism.
Former President Barack Obama said Lewis made civil rights "his life's work."
"He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise," he said.
"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."
Lewis served as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to '66 and was known as one of the so-called Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, he was a keynote speaker at the March on Washington, the same event at which King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He organized voter registration drives, community action programs and participated in the historic Selma to Montgomery march in which demonstrators were attacked by Alabama state troopers in what came to be known as "Bloody Sunday."
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter put him in charge of ACTION, a federal volunteer agency.
Lewis began his political career in 1981 when he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. Five years later, he was elected to his first term in the House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties.
Lewis faced a runoff in his first Democratic primary against Georgia state Rep. Julian Bond, who led the first primary election with 47 percent of the vote. In the runoff, Lewis pulled off an upset, defeating Bond 52 percent to 48 percent. He won the general election with an overwhelming 75 percent of votes.
He's won re-election in the district 16 times, only once dropping below 70 percent of the vote in the general election.
In Congress, Lewis served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was chairman of the panel's subcommittee on oversight. He also was the senior chief deputy whip for the Democratic Party in the House.
He co-authored the National Book Award-winning graphic novel memoir trilogy MARCH with Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell. The series also was a New York Times bestseller and has been used in school circula to teach the Civil Rights Movement.
Lewis also has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Medal of Freedom, presented by former President Barack Obama, the Lincoln Medal, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Lifetime Achievement award and the Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, among others.
Lewis is survived by his son, John-Miles Lewis. His wife of 44 years, Lillian, died in 2012.
Longtime Rep. John Lewis turns 80: a look back
Rep. John Lewis prepares to pay his respects at Rep. Elijah Cummings' memorial ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2019. Pool Photo by Melina Mara/UPI | License Photo
Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus wait to enter
the memorial services. Lewis announced in December 2019 that he has been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer. Pool Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/UPI |
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Lewis arrives on the red carpet for the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019. He
presented the award for Best Picture to "Green Book." Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Lewis (L) and civil rights activist Andrew Young head onto the field before the start of Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi smiles during a swearing-in photo op with Lewis in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2019. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
Lewis
addresses a rally on the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives on October 4, 2017, in Washington, D.C. The Democratic members of Congress held the rally to honor the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas and to demand passage of bipartisan legislation to strengthen background checks for gun purchases. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Lewis (R) makes remarks as Sen. Cory Booker listens during Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for
Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions on January 10, 2017. The Democratic congressmen spoke in opposition to Sessions' nomination, citing his past civil rights and justice record. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
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Lewis takes to the floor to vote for Pelosi for Speaker of the House for the 115th Congress on January 3, 2017. Speaker Paul Ryan won re-election. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Lewis seconds Hillary Clinton's nomination for president of the United States during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. Photo by Ray Stubblebine/UPI | License Photo
From left to right, President Barack Obama, Lewis and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett discuss criminal justice reform at the White House on February 18, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Obama and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch listen to Lewis speak on strengthening and protecting the right to vote at the White House on August 6, 2015. The event was attended by civil rights leaders, faith leaders, voting rights activists and state and local officials. Pool Photo by Ron Sachs/UPI | License Photo
Camilla (C), Duchess of Cornwall, speaks with Rep. Terri Sewell (L), and Lewis during a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on March 18, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Pool Photo by Mandel Ngan/UPI | License Photo
Lewis, who was one of the foot soldiers injured in the "Bloody Sunday" March on Selma, Ala., greets the audience during the Centric Celebrates Selma concert after the historical 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march in Selma on March 8, 2015. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Lewis wipes his face as he sits next to Obama in Selma, Ala., on March 7, 2015. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Lewis is applauded at the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on March 7, 2015. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Lews (L) attends the unveiling of the
Harvey Milk Forever Stamp at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2014. Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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Lewis delivers remarks during the
50th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2013. Thousands gathered at the memorial to celebrate the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Obama hugs Lewis after Lewis delivered remarks, as former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter (L) and Bill Clinton look on, during the "Let Freedom Ring" commemoration event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2013. Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI | License Photo
From left to right, Lewis, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III participate in a march commemorating
the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on August 24, 2013. Tens of thousands civil rights supporters gathered on the National Mall to celebrate the anniversary. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Lewis speaks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on September 6, 2012. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Lewis inspects a sign at the dedication of Rev. James Orange Park in Atlanta on October 29. 2011. The park was named for
Orange, a civil rights leader and activist who organized marches and voter registration drives for over 40 years. Orange died in 2008. Photo by David Tulis/UPI |
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From left to right, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver II, Obama, Lewis, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, first lady Michelle Obama and CBC Foundation Chairman Donald Payne stand for a photo after the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 2011. Pool Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI | License Photo
Lewis helps pack Healthy Lifestyle Kits for District of Columbia area children at a congressional service event in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2010. Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo
From left to right, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Lewis, Pelosi and Rep. John Larson walk to the Capitol while Pelosi holds the gavel that was used to pass Medicare to begin debate on the healthcare reform bill in Washington on March 21, 2010. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Lewis delivers remarks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver on August 28, 2008. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Lewis, surrounded by congressional Democrats, speaks at a rally against the Iraq War outside of the U.S. Capitol as the Senate holds an all-night session debating the troop withdrawal from Iraq on July 17, 2007. Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo
Lewis testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during John Roberts' confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court on Capitol Hill on September 15, 2005. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
Lewis (L) and Norbert Bikales, light one of six memorial candles, each representing 1 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, during the, "2002 Days of Remembrance" ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on April 9, 2002. Photo by Chris Corder/UPI | License Photo
Lewis listens to a panelist during a congressional forum on a historic homeownership tax credit in St. Louis, Mo., on April 30, 2001. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shares a moment with Lewis during a Human Rights Day ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on December 6, 2000. Photo by Ricardo Watson/UPI | License Photo
President John F. Kennedy meets with the leaders of the March On Washington, from left to right, Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz, Mathew Ahmann, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lewis, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Rev. Eugene Carson Blake, A. Philip Randolph, Vice President Johnson, Walter Ruether, Whitney Young and Floyd McKissick in the Oval Office of the White House on August 28, 1963. Photo by Cecil Stoughton/White House/Courtesy of John F. Kennedy Library | License Photo