Consultant John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and a civil rights icon, will lie in state Monday within the Capitol Rotunda, the primary Black lawmaker
Consultant John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and a civil rights icon, will lie in state Monday within the Capitol Rotunda, the primary Black lawmaker to obtain one of many highest American honors, earlier than a viewing for the general public to be held outdoors.
With the Capitol closed to the general public amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Lewis will spend only some hours mendacity in state underneath the Capitol dome after an invitation-only ceremony reserved solely for members of the legislative department on Monday afternoon. About 80 lawmakers are anticipated to attend, in accordance with a Capitol official.
Afterward, Mr. Lewis’s coffin shall be moved outdoors to the Capitol steps, and members of the general public will be capable to line up — with masks required and social distancing enforced — to view it from the plaza beneath on Monday night and all day Tuesday.
Amongst these paying their respects shall be Vice President Mike Pence and Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in accordance with their public schedules. President Trump shouldn’t be scheduled to attend.
Right here is the schedule of occasions to honor Mr. Lewis.
Arrival Ceremony: 1:30 p.m. Monday
There shall be an invitation-only arrival ceremony within the Capitol Rotunda.
The Rev. Grainger Browning Jr. of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Md., will give the invocation, adopted by remarks from Ms. Pelosi and Mr. McConnell.
There shall be a presentation of wreaths by Consultant Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and the bulk chief; Consultant Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the minority chief; Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority chief; and Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina.
The vocal artist Wintley Phipps will sing the Christian hymns “Superb Grace” and “It Is Effectively.”
Consultant James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina and the bulk whip, will give the benediction.
Public viewing outdoors: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday
As a substitute of remaining underneath the Capitol dome whereas members of the general public pay respects, as is conventional, Mr. Lewis’s coffin shall be moved outdoors to the Capitol steps to permit for a extra pandemic-friendly viewing. Members of the general public will be capable to line up in a socially distanced method to see him mendacity in state from the plaza beneath.
Even with the well being precautions, Mr. Lewis’s household discouraged folks from touring from out of city to the Capitol amid the pandemic, as an alternative asking for “digital tributes” utilizing the hashtags #BelovedCommunity or #HumanDignity.
Public viewing continues on Tuesday: eight a.m. to 10 p.m.
The general public viewing of Mr. Lewis’s coffin will proceed all day Tuesday.
Mr. Lewis, a 17-term congressman from Georgia and the senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died July 17 after battling pancreatic most cancers.
He was often called the “conscience of the Congress” for his ethical authority acquired via years of protest for racial equality — together with when he was brutally overwhelmed throughout voting rights demonstrations in Selma, Ala., in 1965 and throughout the Jim Crow South. On Sunday, he made his last journey throughout the Edmund Pettus Bridge there, his coffin carried by a horse-drawn caisson previous the very spot the place a state trooper wielding a membership fractured his cranium 55 years in the past.
Final 12 months, Consultant Elijah E. Cummings grew to become the primary Black lawmaker to lie in state within the Capitol, although he was honored in Statuary Corridor, not within the Rotunda, the place presidents and different statesmen have lain. The location is reserved for the nation’s most revered figures, most lately together with President George Bush and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. Rosa Parks, the civil rights pioneer, lay in honor there in 2005, receiving the very best honor afforded to a non-public citizen.