Florida officials remember John Lewis: ‘Rest in Power’

Upon hearing of the death of civil-rights icon John Lewis, U.S. Rep. Val Demings recalled an ongoing joke with her Democratic Congressional colleague.

“Every time I would see him, I would say, ‘Hello Mr. John Lewis.’ He would respond, ‘please call me John.’ And I would say, ‘okay, Mr. John Lewis.’ We would both laugh,” the congresswoman wrote Saturday morning.

Lewis, who had represented Georgia’s fifth congressional district in the House of Representatives since 1987, died Friday evening at age 80 in Atlanta. His years of government service and his history of civil-rights activism stretching back to his youth earned him admiration.

On Saturday, other Central Florida officials joined Demings in paying their respects.

“We have lost an icon in the Civil Rights movement. A man of courage and honor!” tweeted state Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat whose district encompasses Orlando and northeast Orange County. She quoted his well-known “We all live in the same house” speech.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, whose state House of Representatives 47th District takes in Orlando and Winter Park, also quoted Lewis. The Democrat tweeted: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble,” before wishing Lewis to “Rest in Power,” a sentiment echoed by others.

Demings, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2017, remembered Lewis’s early civil-rights work.

“I was in awe in the ’60s and am still in awe today of the man who was larger than life,” she wrote. “Mr. John Lewis was strong as a lion, yet gentle as dove. He loved America and was willing to work hard and sacrifice to make it a better place. In the dark and difficult days, he reminded us to protect our inner light, maintain our hope and our spirit; that only despair can impede the cause of justice.”

In a 1965 protest march, while walking with his hands in his pockets, Lewis was bloodily beaten by Alabama state troopers, who fractured his skull. The media coverage focused the nation’s attention on racial oppression and galvanized the civil-rights movement and opposition to racial segregation.

Demings, whose district includes the cities of Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Orlando, drew parallels with the current civil-rights protests.

“As a student, he made the decision to devote — and risk — his life in the cause of justice,” she wrote. “I know that he saw the same bravery in today’s young activists; that he loved them. In unity, we must continue to work together to hold America to its promise.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott posted his condolences in a Saturday afternoon tweet.

“Ann & I send our thoughts and prayers to the loved ones of John Lewis,” Scott tweeted. “He left an indelible mark on our country and spent his entire life giving a voice to the voiceless. We are forever grateful for his service to our country and our world.”

Scott also retweeted a tribute from Senate Republicans: “Son of sharecroppers. Civil Rights leader. Freedom Rider. Change maker. Fearless fighter. American hero.”

Florida’s other U.S. senator, Marco Rubio, tweeted a tribute to Lewis, calling him “a genuine & historic American hero,” but marred the sentiments by posting a photo of himself with Elijah Cummings, a Black civil-rights leader who died in October.

After other Twitter users pointed out the error, Rubio deleted the tweet and later posted a different photo, showing himself with Lewis.

Some connected Lewis’s death with that of the Rev. C.T. Vivian, who also died Friday. Like Lewis, Cordy Tindell Vivian was a nonviolent civil-rights activist, a member of the Freedom Riders who fought segregation in Southern bus terminals and other facilities, and an associate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Vivian was 95, and also died in Atlanta.

“Two of the icons of the national civil rights movement have left us,” wrote Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Twitter. “As a country and as a community, we must keep the missions of Rep. John Lewis and Rev. C.T. Vivian alive by continuing to work for peace, justice and equality for all.”

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings also saluted both men, saying he was saddened by their passing.

“I realize that I am, like all of you, the benefactor of the civil rights movement championed by these individuals,” he said.

State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, recalled how after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Lewis led a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“Thank you for inspiring so many in the fight for EQUALITY and JUSTICE!” wrote Smith, a Democrat whose district covers east Orange County.

“He told us to seek out ‘good trouble,’ teaching us that nonviolence is not the same as passivity,” wrote Val Demings in her statement. “He never lifted a hand in anger and yet his hands shaped America.”

mpalm@orlandosentinel.com