A funeral for civil rights hero and longtime Congressman John Lewis will take place Thursday at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta that was once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Former President Barack Obama will eulogize Lewis, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will speak at the private funeral that will conclude memorial services held for Lewis over six days in several cities.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, activist James M. Lawson, former Atlanta Mayor William Craig Campbell, and Lewis' niece were also scheduled to speak. President Donald Trump will not be in attendance.
Bernice King, a daughter of the Martin Luther King Jr., is to say a prayer at the service.
Lewis, who represented Atlanta in the House of Representatives after serving as a young leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, died on July 17 following a monthslong battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
The funeral is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. followed by a burial at South-View cemetery where Lewis will be laid to rest next to his wife, Lillian.
Hours before the funeral was set to begin, The New York Times published an essay written by Lewis shortly before he died. He wanted it to be published on the day of his funeral.
"While my time here has come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me," he wrote in response to the recent protests nationally and abroad sparked by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks, who were all Black.
"You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society," he wrote. "Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity."
Lewis recalled that when he was young and searching he heard King's voice on "an old radio."
"He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence," Lewis wrote. "He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice."
He ended his essay by saying, "Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe."
Earlier this week, Lewis lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers and members of the public paid respects. Ceremonies honoring his legacy were also held in Selma and his hometown of Troy, Alabama.
