WASHINGTON, D.C., July 31, 2020 — Jamila Thompson, the Bahamian-American Deputy Chief of Staff of the late Congressman John Lewis, spoke on behalf of Lewis’ congressional staff and provided a behind-the-scenes look at working for the civil right icon when his funeral was held at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday, July 30.
Thompson said Lewis woke up early each day and called his memory a “living encyclopedia.” On complicated policy matters, Lewis would “make it accessible and real to the people,” she said.
“The record should be clear on his immense pride in representing Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. He was so proud to represent metro Atlanta, all of its cities, all of its counties and all of its people,” Thompson said. “He was on a mission to serve, to make them feel heard, respected and represented, regardless of where they fell on the political spectrum. The constituents were our compass.”
Thompson said she and Lewis’ staff are heartbroken and lost, but said “we cannot, we must not get lost in the sea of despair.”
She closed by encouraging mourners to “be kind, be mindful, recognize the dignity and the worth of every human being, be the best version of yourself, be informed, stay engaged — even though the work is hard — and if you are of age and eligible, for the love of God, please vote.”
Former President Barack Obama delivered a rousing eulogy celebrating Lewis’ life. “He, as much as anyone in our history, brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals,” Mr. Obama said.
He addressed the issue that defined Lewis’ legacy, calling on Congress to act on voting rights. “Let’s honor him by revitalizing the law he was willing to die for,” Mr. Obama said, to an ovation at the funeral. He added, “John wouldn’t want us to stop there. Once we pass it, we should keep marching to make it even better,” listing new provisions like automatic registration and making Election Day a national holiday.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, too, paid homage to Lewis, who died on July 17 at the age of 80 after a months-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Bush, the first among the living presidents to pay homage to Lewis, said Americans live in a country that is better today because of the late congressman.
“John Lewis always looked outward, not inward. He always thought of others. He always believed in preaching the gospel, in word and in deed, insisting that hate and fear had to be answered with love and hope,” Mr. Bush said. “John Lewis believed in the Lord. He believed in humanity, and he believed in America.”
Mr. Clinton noted that Lewis “left us with marching orders” in his op-ed in the New York Times, published on the day of his funeral. In the piece, Lewis urged Americans to continue to get into “good trouble.” The former president suggested that Americans honor this request: “Salute, suit up, and march on.”
Lewis, the son of Alabama sharecroppers, played an instrumental role in the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 and went on to serve more than three decades in Congress representing the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a compilation of information gleaned from articles published on the Internet)
Here’s a link to an article on Jamila Thompson published in Black Enterprise magazine October 3, 2016, in which she talks about her Bahamian roots: https://www.blackenterprise.com/legislative-director-jamila-thompson-bahamian-washingtonian-influence/
