“He suffered so that we would have rights”: Black community leaders hold memorial for Rep. John Lewis

Published 10:53 pm Friday, July 31, 2020

Around 50 people gathered together in downtown Tyler on Friday evening to memorialize the life of one of the most famous civil rights leaders, U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia who died on July 17 due to pancreatic cancer, was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement and was known for his focus on advocating for voting rights for Black Americans. In 1965, Lewis led the famous march from Selma to Montgomery across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Three former presidents spoke at his funeral.

He had visited East Texas in the past, and many of the speakers had marched with him in solidarity of voting rights. Those sentiments were echoed at the memorial.

“He was a man who did what any man could’ve done, but not many men did,” Sonja Watson, a member of Lewis’ sister sorority said as she spoke on his life. “When we remember Mr. Lewis and his life, we remember that he suffered so that we would have rights … but most importantly, the right to vote.”

Fraternal support

The memorial was organized by City Councilmember Dr. Shirley McKellar and included many speakers from Lewis’s fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, and other Greek societies.

“Culture for service, service for humanity — this is the exemplary principle of a Phi Beta man,” Reginald Tyiska, the president of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity in this region, said. “John Roberts Lewis was, is and will be remembered as a Sigma man of service for humanity.”

The speakers highlighted important Black figures in the Civil Rights movement both locally and nationally, and spoke on Lewis’ many accomplishments, including his speech at the 1963 March on Washington D.C.

Rubye Kendrick, a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, spoke at the event in favor of Lewis’s “good trouble” when it came to voting. She encouraged those at the event to vote early, work the polls and register others up until the election.

“His death at this time may be the impetus for us to get to the polls,” Kendrick said. “We need to vote. Our lives depend on this.”

His inspiration

Other speakers, such as the former president of the Democratic Women of East Texas organization Mary Lou Tevebaugh, spoke about her own experience with segregation in Tyler, and how Lewis inspired her work.

“As he said, all of us have to stand up when we something that is not just and not right,” Tevebaugh said, “Colin Kaepernick gave up his career. John Lewis gave his blood. Martin Luther (Jr.) gave his life. What are you going to be willing to give to make the changes that we need today?”

Phillip Burns, a resident of Gregg County, came to memorialize Lewis’s legacy and honor him for the rights he fought for Black Americans. Burns had previously met Lewis when he visited Longview in 2018 to support a bid for the town’s native Jozmond Black who ran for the Georgia House of Representatives.

“If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have some of the freedoms that we as Black men and women have,” Burns said. “We need to exemplify what he has done. If we do some of the things he’s done, America will be a better place.”

In his footsteps

Kierra Green is following in Lewis’ footsteps as an activist, she said, and came to honor his memory here. Green is a founding member of the Fight for Justice ETX Facebook group and has organized several of the local Black Lives Matter protests since George Floyd’s death.

“He broke barriers,” Green said. “He made it a little easier to fight our fight to continue his legacy because of the fact that he stood up and created the legacy that he did, along with others like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.”

Social distancing

Seats at the event were set six feet apart, and the microphone was cleaned with disinfectant wipes between each speaker in an effort to follow recommended social distancing guidelines for COVID-19.

There was an increased law enforcement presence on the outskirts of the event, including several bicycle cops from the Tyler Police Department.

Law enforcement

Two constables cars led a large procession of vehicles to the event as almost all parking spaces were filled with cars featuring two American flags, one waving from each window. The participants came in with the escort with their lights and flashers on much like a funeral procession.

Shirley McKellar ended the memorial by honoring Lewis, saying that while he represented Georgia, he was a representative for the entirety of the United States of America.

‘We thank goD’

“We thank God for his life,” Dr. Jamie Capers prayed, “We thank god for his legacy.”