PRINTER'S NO. 4286
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
986
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY KINSEY, KENYATTA, HARRIS, MADDEN, PASHINSKI,
DELLOSO, GAINEY, KIRKLAND, SNYDER, ZABEL, McCARTER,
SCHLOSSBERG, BURGOS, A. DAVIS, ROTHMAN, RYAN, D. MILLER,
LONGIETTI, HILL-EVANS, SCHLEGEL CULVER, ULLMAN, FREEMAN,
WEBSTER, McNEILL, NEILSON, GALLOWAY, DERMODY, MURT, SAPPEY,
BARRAR, BURNS, SAMUELSON, McCLINTON, JONES, DONATUCCI,
SAINATO, KORTZ, HOWARD, ROZZI, DALEY, YOUNGBLOOD, PETRARCA,
HARKINS, HOHENSTEIN, ROEBUCK, WILLIAMS, CALTAGIRONE, SANCHEZ,
GREGORY, MEHAFFIE, MALAGARI, WARREN, DRISCOLL, DeLUCA, DEASY,
FRANKEL, SHUSTERMAN, CIRESI AND HEFFLEY, AUGUST 25, 2020
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
AUGUST 25, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Expressing condolences and honoring the life and legacy of
Congressman John Lewis.
WHEREAS, Congressman John Lewis, an American civil rights
icon and moral visionary, passed away on July 17, 2020, at the
age of 80 years old; and
WHEREAS, He was born outside of Troy, Alabama on February 21,
1940, to a family of sharecroppers and attended segregated
public schools throughout his childhood; and
WHEREAS, After being inspired by the words of Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. and the activism surrounding the Montgomery bus
boycott, Congressman Lewis made a decision to become an integral
part of the Civil Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, When studying at Fisk University, Congressman Lewis
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organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in
Nashville, Tennessee and volunteered to participate in the
Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at bus terminals
across the South; and
WHEREAS, From 1963 to 1966, he was named Chairman of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which he helped form,
and was responsible for organizing student activism during the
Civil Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, At the age of 23, Congressman Lewis was recognized
as a national leader by being named one of the Big Six leaders
of the Civil Rights Movement and a keynote speaker at the
historic March on Washington; and
WHEREAS, In 1965, Congressman Lewis led peaceful protestors
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama that turned
into a brutal confrontation with State troopers and became a
landmark event in the Civil Rights Movement known as "Bloody
Sunday"; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Lewis remained active in the Civil
Rights Movement and became an Atlanta city councilman in 1981
and then began representing Georgia's 5th Congressional district
in the United States House of Representatives in 1986; and
WHEREAS, He was one of the most respected members of Congress
who continuously called for measures to fight poverty,
improvements in education and most importantly overseeing
multiple renewals of the Voting Rights Act; and
WHEREAS, During his time in Congress, Congressman Lewis
pushed for the creation of the Smithsonian National Museum of
African American History and Culture and helped create the FBI's
Cold Case Initiative, which reopens cases of racially motivated
murders from past decades; and
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WHEREAS, Over the years, Congressman Lewis received numerous
honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom
in 2011 presented by President Barack Obama; and
WHEREAS, He reached out to a younger generation by helping to
create a series of graphic novels noting his work in the Civil
Rights Movement and won the 2016 National Book Award for the
third installment in the series; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Lewis received multiple tributes from
the city of Atlanta for his continuous dedication to protecting
human rights and civil liberties, including numerous exhibits
across the city in his honor and Freedom Parkway being renamed
to "John Lewis Freedom Parkway;" and
WHEREAS, His life was devoted to activism and advocacy for
equal justice in America, and his actions have inspired so many
today; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives express
condolences and honor the life and legacy of Congressman John
Lewis; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution will be transmitted
to the family of Congressman Lewis as an expression of
condolence for their loss.
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