Rep. John Lewis Crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge In Selma A Final Time

Civil rights icon John Lewis' body was carried across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday. It's the bridge that he crossed in the march to Montgomery on March 7, 1965, a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday."

"John was determined to fight for equality and justice, putting his own life on the line in the service of others and a brighter future for everyone," said Congresswoman Terri Sewell on Sunday. "John crossed bridges so many times -- insisting that our nation live up to the ideals upon which it was founded. As he always said, he gave a little blood on that bridge." 

Lewis will lie in repose in the Alabama Capitol on Sunday afternoon. His body will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol next week before a private funeral at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once presided. 

A series of events honoring Lewis began Saturday in his hometown of Troy, Alabama, where he was honored by friends and family at Troy University, followed by a service at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma. Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80 following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in December. He was the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington in 1963.