called fisk university. please give credit to those schools. look at what he has done and done as a country. we have a long way do go but we have a roadmap now that he didn't have. we have examples of a demonstrator to a legislator, a rabble-rouser to a bridge builder that he didn't have in the same way that we have so it's a beautiful day to see him get his just reward and diane nash is watching. luckily diane nash is still alive who marched with him in nashville. still watching. it is a powerful day. >> indeed. the hearse carrying john lewis, black lives matter plaza here in washington, d.c. the white house just ahead. an honor and a privilege to be with you these last two hours. brianna keilar picks up the coverage right now.

>> thank you so much, to john king. i am brianna keilar and welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world as we watch this special live coverage right now of the nation's tribute to congressman and civil rights icon john lewis. this is the third day, the third of six days of memorial services for the man known as the conscience of the country and he was of the country, the congressman's cass ketd ket is arrive at capitol plaza. you see right now this processional heading toward the capitol, away from the white house. he will be lying in state at the u.s. capitol following a ceremony which is set to begin shortly. this motorcade has been carrying lewis and his family through the streets of washington, d.c. where he served our country and congress for more than three decades. the motorcade is pausing at key spots including a short time ago at the memorial to reverend

martin luther king jr., who was kronk lewis' beloved mentor and friend. it stopped the black lives matter where congressman lewis made his last public appearance a few weeks ago. there was a moment yesterday in selma, alabama, as his flag-draped cass ketd crossed the edmund pettus bridge for the final time. the road there strewn with red rose petals. it is the same bridge where he was beaten as he marched for the rights of african-americans to vote. and as these six days of memorial services began saturday in lewis' hometown of troy a brother recalled even in his final moments the congressman wanted to know how his family was doing. so you're watching the procession here. john lewis heading toward the

capitol where he is going to lie in state and be honored by so many people. democrats and republicans. honoring everything that he has accomplished for the country over decades. at really a time that is just a lot of people, of course, trying to make sense of the racial reckoning going on in the country and reflecting back on john lewis' roots as they do that. house speaker nancy pelosi was very close to congressman john lewis, she was at joirnt base andrews this morning to greet the plane. she and senate leader mitch mcconnell will be addressing invited members soon. you can see here the processional heading toward the washingt washington monument. i want to bring in joe johns.

you have been following this route as john lewis makes his way to the capitol. tell us your thoughts on this day. >> reporter: well, you know, it's personal because i knew john lewis from my years up on capitol hill. and it is a very sad day but it's also in some ways heartening just simply because this is a torch passing if you will of the torch of activism from this man who was one of the big six as they called them in the civil rights movement to congress and now to the younger generations of activists. the people who appeared right here not long ago on black lives matter plaza and essentially took it over until that point when the president of the united states was looeeaving the white

house, had it cleared of peaceful protesters go over to st. johns episcopal church to do what was essentially a photo-op holding a bible but it's not just that. it is also sort of if you look at john lewis' life and his career, many people know that he was highly critical of president trump. he called him a racist, he said his presidency was not legitimate. he boycotted the inauguration. but across john lewis' career he, in fact, had many run-ins with a number of other presidents. he didn't go to george w. bush's inauguration. you have to go all the way back to the lyndon johnson administration where at least i believe i find the first run-in he had with a president and that was over the best way to approach getting the voting rights act through the congress. so that sort of tells you how

long this man has been doing what he's doing. he was at a time called radical. and now, perhaps still a radical. but not so much. and he stands tall in the legacy of civil rights leaders in the united states, brooke. >> it's a reminder, joe, of like you said he was considered a radical, right? he was someone who might at one point have caused a lot of americans discomfort and now you look at the legacy, joe, of john lewis. i'm not sure if you can hear me, joe. but you look at -- >> reporter: yes, i can hear you. >> you look at the legacy of john lewis and decades later the service you could argue has been searching for radical change in the congress. but history reflects back on that moment of him being someone

who really shook things up and history remembers him fondly. that sort of -- i think a lesson of what history says decades later about someone called a radical at the time. >> reporter: right. you know, i'm sorry i called you brooke but it's brianna now that i hear your voice. sorry about that. the other thing that really stands out to me is, you know, he sort of made his chops on the student nonviolent coordinating committee snic and then if you look across the span of the years, those are the things he stood for. students. he always connected with younger generations to try to lead them to fight for social justice. he was always nonviolent. even in the face of the most terrible moments like down on the edmund pettus bridge in alabama. and he was always coordinating. he was trying to bring people

together for a cause. so that's john in a nutshell and he carried that from year to year to year to year, whatever the issue was, and again, it is just fascinating to see a man who was a living legend and to have had the opportunity to know him, understand how gentle he was but how firm he was in his convictions. and that is what washington and the country celebrates today. >> joe, thank you so much for that. i do want to now bring in suzanne malveaux and chief political correspondent dana bash both on capitol hill for us. suzanne, first to you, as we watch this procession through the streets of washington, we see the capitol there in the distance. which is where you and dana are. tell us what is going to be happening throughout the rest of this day. >> brianna, a special

celebration, a day of joy as well as mourning. as you know, these type of events are planned down to the minute. it is running a little bit lat but again they have already begun to assemble here on capitol hill the members of the congressional black caucus in statutory hall and you will see the leadership here who will speak forcefully and emotionally about their colleague and friend of three decades, congressman john lewis really bringing that brand of activism and passion here to washington. and really being the conscience of congress as we have heard over and over again. this was somebody you talked to lawmakers and family and friends and they will tell you that this -- what made him so special and unique before he even stepped on the grounds was the fact that he putt his body behind his beliefs, that he was able time after time after time to do that, to sacrifice himself. there were so many people as a part of the civil rights

movement who played a role but there were few people who were able to do that time and time again. and that is something that many people recall and so he had a sense of purpose here that was really not compared to anybody on capitol hill and that both republicans and democrats alike really believe and think so fondly of who he was and what he became and so what you will see in the moments ahead playing out in the next 20 minutes, quite a way for the motorcade and whether the family and hearse does arrive here they'll escort the family, they will be taken inside. and you will have a private ceremony, a private viewing starting and you will have house speaker nancy pelosi with the invocation. you will have senate majority leader mitch mcconnell who will be speaking, as well. "amazing grace." the benediction from the james

clyburn, a very personal and close friend of congressman lewis just to name a few people who will be here. this is an invitation-only. once the family has viewed the body, once the ceremony has concluded, they will escort the family away and then open for congress members to pay respects. they will go group by group to go ahead and go by the casket to pay their respects. and then it will be later this afternoon that it will be about 6:00 or so they will remove the ca casket from inside the rotunda and then for the public to see, a special viewing. this is really a break from protocol of before and it is because of social distancing that is required the coronavirus. they're very, very strict rules in place for the public viewing. six feet apart at least. everyone who gets in that line

will have to wear a mask. as they approach. it is very, very hot. there's been an emergency -- i guess announcement, if you will, from the d.c. mayor warning people about this heat, to tell them to bring water. to be patient because, yes, we anticipate that it is going to be a very long and fruitful celebration as members of the public line up to pay tributes, brianna. >> suzanne, thank you so much. we are watching this procession, congressman john lewis' motorcade making the way, actually, just passed in front of the capitol reflecting pool and heading towards the supreme court here. as it's making its way around the capitol grounds. dana, you know, one of the things we just saw as the motorcade turned on to what i believe is 3rd street there or one of the transverses over the

national mall, you saw police officers saluting him and when you think of the images that you know that are so famous associated with john lewis coming out of selma, it is just such a sight to see this. it drivers hos home i think the feelings of saying good-bye. the emptiness that he leaves and yet the measure of the man is the inspiration he isn't out to so many people. >> no question about it. we have seen so many of those images so poignant, particularly looking at police officers. if you go back in time to 1965, they were state troopers who almost killed him with clubs. and how far things have come. with john lewis. one thing i want to mention and it was hard to see if they actually passed by it but the plan was to pass by the

african-american museum. on his way here to where i am on capitol hill. he -- the year he came in to congress he began to introduce legislation creating an african-american museum. every single year for 15 years to no avail and finally he got it done. and they started building it. if that is not john lewis i don't know what is. he called it persistence -- being persistent and consistent. patience, patience, patience. but power. and getting that museum built which, of course, has a lot of facts and information about his own legacy, never mind the entire african-american experience, was classic john lewis. the other thing that he had done on this route here to capitol hill, the department of justice. he made it a point to have it named after robert f. kennedy, one of the heroes in his political life who he worked for

in 1968. and i should tell you here i am on capitol hill. i can see coming up independence avenue the motorcade with john lewis, the procession, about to turn in to the capitol plaza and there's a small crowd but there are people here lined up to pay tribute to this man. who meant so much to so many. >> yes, it did go by the african-american history museum which it is beautiful, unique and you cannot miss it, right? it is right there in the heart of the mall. if you are coming through washington, you are driving by it. and it is a testament to his efforts to make that such an important part of so many people's visits to the nation's capital and also just very -- you know, obviously, there have

been some closures of museums but it's probably the most popular museum in washington. >> reporter: no question. brianna, i have to share a moment. the hearse just drove by. we are in -- this is a family place to you. we are in the cannon office building which is john lewis' office building on the balcony overlooking and the hearse just drove by and -- i don't want to be too dramatic but the air changed. you could feel the significance of the moment when that happened. it's something i'll never forget. as we were talking. it was really remarkable, brianna. >> i think that, dana, that was part of being around john lewis. right? to be around someone who especially for what he'd been through had an air of calm about him. he was someone who had just, you know, stared sort of a threat right in the eye. he had swallowed fear to make a

difference and see so far into the future what he and others wanted. loving their country but realizing it wasn't as they wanted it. and they needed for it to change. they needed for it to be a place where, you know, they were welcomed. and it also drives home how far the country has to go, as well. that i think americans are saying good-bye to him at this moment in time. >> absolutely. he is quoted as saying that he because of everything that happened to him as a young man lost all sense of fear and he said when you lose fear you're free and you got that sense from him, that freedom of fear. because he had been through so much at 23, being at one of the speakers on the national mall, but more importantly, being clubbed almost to death on the

edmund pettus bridge on the freedom rides being attacked, bloodied by members of the kkk. so on and so on and so on and after all of that, he had and maybe because of that and internalized what he preached he did have a lightness about him and it was infectious and that is why people from all walks of life knew about him. when they encountered him here on capitol hill they knew they were in the presence of greatness. >> definitely. and, dana, if you can stand by for me for just one moment, you know, did last public moment that we have of john lewis is very impactful photo where it is a poignant picture of him gazing at the black lives matter plaza in washington, d.c. and he is

standing on the plaza with his mask on, another moment. i want to bring in the man that took those photos, gary williams. gary, if you could tell us how that moment unfolded. >> oh man. thinking back, well, first and foremost, sincere thoughts and prayers to mr. lewis' family. we definitely mourn the loss of his life but we absolutely celebrate the life he led and lived. so just wanted to say that. but this moment, i got a call from his chief of staff or email from his chief of staff the night before. and he mentioned that mr. lewis wanted to have a personal visit to black lives matter plaza before he headed back to atlanta. and so, you know, i got that email obviously, i said, of course, i'm there. whatever you need. and the next morning we got up

early. and we weren't sure if mr. lewis was going to be able to make it because he had just undergone chemotherapy the night before and was feeling a little weak but again to his strength not only physically but, you know, in his spirit, he made it. bright and early that morning and he was able to have that moment and i'm so thankful that he was able to have that moment and that i was there to capture that moment. so, you know, his family and friends, we have these images now. >> it is -- it is a beautiful image. were you able -- i also think part of it is the full circle aspect of it, right? >> yes. >> even if it is not everything coming full circle it is a feeling of john lewis passing a torch to a different movement. >> no. i mean, totally correct. i think he had his mask on that

day so it was hard to kind of gauge his facial expression. but you could see as he stood up there and looked down on black lives matter plaza you could see in his eyes it was a time of reflection for him and i can imagine he was thinking back to all of the things that he had been through. you know? and to sort of pave the way for this moment to even happen. but then also, thinking about how this fight has continued and how the work that he's done and many others of the civil rights movement have done, has kind of led the way for this moment to happen so i can just imagine he was reflecting all of that work that was put in that he had done that his constituents had done and just it probably came to a moment of full circle like you said and i remember as he was leaving the plaza that day someone asked him what that moment made.

he said it was powerful, that this nation is sending a message to the rest of the world that we will get there. and i thought, wow. for him to have gone through all that he has gone through and to see this moment and for him to have hope that we will one day get there and i think that's the spirit we have to take with us as we continue to fight as we continue to push, as we continue to fight for racial equality. that we will get there and we cannot let up and we must be persistent just as mr. lewis was. >> and, gary, i just want to let our viewers know what they watch as i want to ask you another question about that moment. >> sure. >> but john lewis, this procession is continuing around the capitol grounds. john lewis, the hearse carrying john lewis will be heading to the capitol. we're very close to his arrival at the capitol.

and he's there in the capitol plaza and will be lying in state there in the capitol and will be honored by colleagues of his and future generations of members of congress. gary, i wonder for you having captured that moment of him, essentially passing the torch, you know? coming so far as part of this struggle for equality, for black americans, and yet, in a way saying good-bye because there's a leg of this race that he obviously will not be running. you know? that is for a future generation. what do you want americans to take away from that photo? >> i think the photo speaks to his character.

and as many have said he was persistent but he also -- he practiced what he preached. he was a man that stood by his word. he was a man that didn't give up. in the face of all kinds of adversity, with being beaten within inches of his life, he still got back up and continued the fight. and i think what we can learn from that is that there is no progress if we are afraid, if we are fearful of what may happen to us. we have to continue to go forward. we have to continue to fight. we have -- because we are not necessarily fighting for ourselves but for those coming up after us. i think about my children and the future i want them to have and i'm sure mr. lewis thought about, you know, the future that he wanted all of americans to have, but specifically, black

americans to have and i'm sure that was often on the forefront of his mind, what can he do to make the future better for those that come after him. and so, while he is not here with us physically, i assure you he is here with us in spirit and me and others will carry on this torch, will carry on this burden, this fight in his name and continue to get into some good trouble and hopefully like he said, we'll get there. >> sir, thank you so much. gary williams jr., we really appreciate you being with us to share some of those final moments with the congressman with us. we are remembering an icon. the cass ketd of congressman john lewis has just arrived at the capitol plaza. this is on the east side of the capitol. i want to bring in suzanne malveaux. she is there on the capitol grounds. and suzanne, this is where there

are so many people waiting who have worked decades or maybe everyone just a short while with congressman lewis. many newbies who came to congress speaking counsel and guidance from him even in the early days as members in the house or in the senate, as well. give us your thoughts as we watch this moment here at the capitol. >> brianna, i can see the casket from the hearse just over my shoulder just a little bit in the distance there in the east plaza. there are so many members of congress and staffers, young people, as well as those who were participants in the civil rights movement who have lined up against the streets to pay their tributes and respect. as well, brianna, some people are just being introduced to john lewis, the congressman,

some knew him for three decades, as a young girl who's the daughter of two parents who grew up in the segregated south who endured many of the indignities of the colored only water fountains of the women having to go to the hospital to the back entrance of a hospital to give birth, the colored only schools, the hand me downs, everybody knew john lewis and who he was. and our parents told us those stories so that we could remember, always remember, what life was like and how far we have come as a country and as individuals. for john lewis and for the fact that so many people gave so much. but john lewis was a special kind of giver. he was somebody who was willing to sacrifice and put his life on the line for the cause and for that reason we grew up knowing john lewis and who he was and so

you can only imagine coming here and actually being able to cover congressman lewis as a lawmaker and as a leader in a totally different evolution of his life and his career, somebody who made good trouble and was in trouble and was arrested and put his, again, body on the line if you will in a different context, in a different way to make history for more than three decades as the conscience of congress and that, too, was his evolution, a part of who he was as an activist and taking that here to the nation's capital and making our leaders, our lawmakers and our presidents accountable for their own actions, holding a mirror up to each one of them in times when he felt that there needed to be a course correction, whether it was lgbtq rights, immigration or

gun control. these were the things that made congressman lewis very, very relevant as somebody who was speaking out even just last month at the black lives matter plaza. i was there that weekend covering the protests, the peaceful protests and his message was so very clear. there were people who had thought that perhaps it was just symbolism or wasn't enough to see the emblazoned letters on the street. criticized the d.c. mayor. but congressman lewis wanted to make sure that those young people knew as he always did in one of his favorite speeches, favorite stories he would tell is about that meeting of the minds with a. phillip randolph and martin luther king before the march on washington and the i have a dream speech, the fact that he was able to compromise with his elders, elder statesmen

in the civil rights movement to back off and take off a little bit of that speech to out of respect to the kennedy administration and to those civil rights leaders bridge that gap and that, too, was a message that he was telling the young people of black lives matter when he was there that weekend in that moment to go ahead and to extend that olive branch to the d.c. mayor, to recognize that progress comes in steps and increments, that the trouble is not all at once but over the span perhaps of months and a lifetime. >> suzanne, so well said. we want to bring in abby phillip to build on some of suzanne's comments there as she said it comes in steps and it comes in increments and i think seeing this procession today and seeing john lewis being honored over

the course of six days, it's also a reminder that when john lewis was a young man there were questions about whether what he was doing was right. was this the right way? was this the way that america will become a better place for all americans? and the answers were certainly not as clear to many americans which brings us to the moment that we are in a racial reckoning going on across the united states and there are similar questions and people not knowing if things are heading in the right direction or maybe they're uncomfortable or they are fearful and looking back on john lewis' life is something that maybe can inform this moment for us about the path forward and how history may judge the moment we are in now. >> yeah. i think that this is one of the

parts about having this moment and having someone who spent so much of his life in the public sphere, you can see the beginning, the middle and the end of the story enat the beginning of this story the civil rights activist of which john lewis was a part was not popular in this country. it was not a popular movement. there were many people who believed that what they were doing was too provocative, perhaps unnecessary, it made a lot of people uncomfortable in this country at the time. but we now have the benefit of all of these decades of having john lewis as a presence in our life and we can see that what he was doing was right but something you said earlier, brianna, that really struck me which was that john lewis was able to see into the future. he was able to see then about the country that he wanted. and even in this moment he right before he passed away he was

looking into the future for the country, as well. he was basically saying there is unfinished business, there are forces trying to in his word take us back to a dark time and he saw this new jerian ration of activists as the people who would take on this torch and carry it into the future. john lewis could have left public life a long time ago and sat back and said my work here is done but he didn't and he didn't because he always was looking forward and seeing the threat of taking steps backward from all the progress that he helped create for this country. so this is someone who i think the lesson that we all learn from him is that he is never willing to let people just sit on their laurels and accept the situation as it is. he has always pushed the country

forward from the beginning of his time in this movement as a young man in the early 20s all the way until his death and the very last public gesture that he made to be at black lives matter plaza was part of that signaling that he was giving to this country in this pivotal time that the work is not done. he really did believe that there was -- there is a threat that always remains that we could take steps backward and that you have to be vigilant not just on the issues of racial equality but on all issues of justice and fairness in this country. he took a stand on the issue of immigration in the capitol, in his final years. as suzanne pointed out, gun control was a major issue for him. and voting. i think this year of all years voting is going to be such a crucial issue and you see his

friends and his mentors and the people who are carrying his torch on capitol hill taking that on because they know how important that was to john lewis and how john lewis very much saw real problems on the horizon as he looked forward into a time that he wouldn't be with us in this moment but he was saying to us effectively this is the crux of our democracy, this is what we fought for. and i think he wanted to remind people that the work on that issue is not done and that there is a real threat that the country can take a step backward if they get too complacent sitting on the laurels and he was never one to allow people to do that. even in his later and final years. >> such a good point. he loved this country so much, abby. he loved it enough to change it. right? and that was -- that is such a great contribution that he has

made both as an activist and as a legislator and up looking right inside of the capitol rotunda. john lewis' casket currently is on the right side of your screen just outside of the capitol on the east plaza there. but he is going to be honored by his colleagues in the house of represent evs, invited members from the house and the senate and family members who you can see in this very unique situation which is not what it would normally be. but there they are socially distanced wearing mask as they await their colleague who they are about to honor and as we are waiting for this to proceed, i want to bring in dana bash who is up there on capitol hill. actually reporting live from the office building where john lewis had his office.

dana, especially as we look at the unrest or really the state of america right now if we could just talk a little bit about john lewis as yes an activist, but also, as a legislator making that pivot abby was talking about this. making that decision to continue on from being an activist and trying something incredibly different. those are two different skill sets. just because you're someone effective at one doesn't mean you're effective at the other but tell us about his contributions as a legislator. >> you are right. very, very different skill sets but when you're john lewis very transferable because it has to do with listening, organizing, talking to people who don't always agree with you, taking a lot of stuff from people. either in politics across the aisle or in his previous life

across an ideological spectrum but he did come here. i mentioned the work he did to get the african-american museum from an idea to a real beautiful and important building and teaching tool for everybody in the world who can come under normal circumstances to see it. but also, things that he did with regard to gun safety. he was a big advocate of the brady bill early on. he is also somebody who before it was -- when it was very, very unpopular, in politics, everyn democratic politics, to be for gay rights, he was and he would say that he didn't fight for equality just for african-americans and later for women but for everybody and that included people who from his perspective should be allowed to love who they want to love. he went against his fellow

democrat in the white house at the time. bill clinton. who supported the -- signed the defensive marriage act. he opposed the 1994 crime bill which through the lens of today he was asked most democrats including the guy that signed it bill clinton, that was a huge mistake. so he was the conscience of congress and worked on pieces of legislation, people don't talk about the tax legislation. medicare, medicaid. he was a senior member of the tax writing ways and means committee, didn't get the headlines that other things did because he was john lewis but those are some of the things that he was passionate about and used his platform on those committees, on those policy making committees the try to further the work that he did for people who were disenfranchised, brianna. >> thank you so much for taking us through that. it makes me think -- you said he

went against fellow democrats, a democratic president. we were also reminded that he went against his parents, right? they were incredibly concerned about his safety as he was an about vis. this is someone who, i mean, he had a personal compass he followed and even if his parents were worried that he was doing the wrong thing. >> yeah. you and i are both mothers. we understand, his mother in particular quite worried about his safety and rightly so. he almost died on more than one occasion fighting for what he believed was right. they worried about losing the land that his grandfather bought as soon as they could and he was a -- their families were sharecroppers in alabama. they were worried about real things that they had a right to worry about but they couldn't control the destiny that their

son john robert lewis said he felt he had and followed which is why he wrote to martin luther king jr. when he was just a teenager and in response he got that round trip bus ticket to go see him and, you know, the rest is literally history. one thing that as we're watching this, he's at the capitol. he is going to come in to the rotunda, i'll never forget being in the rotunda of the capitol on the other side of the capitol when john lewis walked back in after witnessing barack obama sworn in as president of the united states. and the pride that he had. almost disbelief and you would think maybe everyone morebelief if it's not john lewis because he could as you and others were saying see into the future. he had such hope for a moment like that. but i will never forget that and certainly anybody around him will never forget just watching

him knowing that he made that happen and barack obama later told him and wrote him something that he saved saying, signed the program from the inauguration telling him that it was because of him that obama became the first president of the united states, fever mind all of the steps in between that lewis pushed so hard for just for the basic right to vote. 'he would later walk across the edmund pettus bridge with the obamas, one on either side of him. i want to bring in bicari sellers to talk as we await john lewis' casket which has arrived there at the capitol in the eastern plaza and it is going to be trance ported to the rotunda where so many of his colleagues will be there to honor him. but, you know, it's one of those thing when you're talking about someone like john lewis, he is larger than life. he is a transcendent individual

and yet he's also the example of what a human being can aspire to when it comes to following their beliefs and i think we have talked a lot about it but seeing a future that he wanted and marching toward it and knowing that he was going to move toward it even if he wasn't going to maybe arrive at what he thought was the version of the country that he thought would best serve all americans. >> your question is so on point and the reason being is because one of the things that john lewis has taught us is that heroes walk among us. the richness of the history is just dwindled down to martin, malcolm and rosa and they give you a white-washed legacy.

people once portrayed martin luther king as a docile human being that didn't try to rise up with a radical tone in the way he carried himself. but what john lewis taught us is that true heroes were a part of the struggle every single day. it was ella baker, diane nash, the heroes and sheros with john lewis and he epitomizes that courage, that strength to understand that this country is better than it was and this country is better than it is. he is the true definition of a patriot. there is a great deal of irony and i'm just happy he gets a chance to rest there in the united states capitol. because john lewis, we want to talk about him in the united states congress from 1986 forward but from age 23, 24, 25, chairman of snic, they risked

life and limb going down in mississippi and alabama, south carolina, georgia, rengsterring voters, local folk, and none of those black folk elected today, the ones who will be able to celebrate with him, celebrate his life, none of them would be there it wasn't for the efforts of snic and people like john lewis, stokley carmichael, ella baker, my father. and so be able to see him in the united states congress in his final place of resting today before going to atlanta around his colleagues you can only simply look at john lewis saying job well done. there is work to be done but on days like this we like to have celebrations, especially in the black community. we call these home goings celebrations and we will not be overcome by sadness but we'll lift up john lewis and i will just say that if i can be half of the person in and around politics that john lewis was, if

i can be half of the civil rights activist that john lewis was, half the husband that he was, then my life will be a success. >> it's -- even as you say that, you say it's home going celebration and i hear your voice tremble because someone like john lewis does not leave without leaving a void even as he leaves a legacy, an amazing legacy. i think of the ripple effect of his inspiration and i wonder, bakari, i hear you reflecting on -- what will you do with that? how are you going to take that and continue on? how do you think people reflect on that question today? >> my voice is trembling because the sadness, it comes from understanding your mortality. our heroes are dying. and that is the sadness. there's an entire generation of individuals in this country who

are 70, 75, 80 years old and they don't have to read about the history of our country in history books because they were actually there to smell gun smoke. they were hit across the head with billy clubs. they understand what jailhouse floors feel like. these are the people who allow for there to be a don lemon on prime time tv or bakari or vict victor blackwell or abby phillip. they cross the hurdles and now they're dying so that's the sadness but it is also the challenge as you say because now we have to step up to the mantle. you know? we have to become a part of something larger than ourselves. we have to be willing to live every day in our truth. one of the thing that s that jo lewis was never afraid of was walking on the pages of history. it is incumbent of everyone to

join together and remembrance of people like john lewis because as much as we say job well done, there's work to do and my job to be an amazing husband, father and to speak that truth to power every day i'm on tv, every day in my normal every day life, push people to be better and i can honestly i want to have people like john lewis look at me and say, job well done. i want him to be proud of me and the work i do and that's the lessons i live with and weigh heavy on my heart. >> that is the standard that he leaves for you to aspire to and for so many people for all of us to aspire to. i want to bring in nia-malika henderson to this conversation. it is an emotional moment i think right now because we are

matching john lewis and waiting. it is this peaceful moment outside of the capitol and inside his colleagues are waiting for him. what was, you know, such a key part of his life, decades as a legislator, following the time as an activist. they're there, some of them are young, right? some of them are folk quhs who just getting started in the legislative careers and some have been with him on this path in congress for decades. i'm sort of in awe of what must be the totality of what is on their minds right now as they're awaiting the arrival of his cass ke -- casket of their colleague. >> friend, colleague, someone they stood shoulder to shoulder with. in battles across the south, particularly someone like jim clyburn who's in south carolina

doing similar work as john lewis. you know? i think when you're somebody my age, you know, i think about my parents. right? who were about the same age as john lewis. my mom is 82. my dad died years ago but he, too, he died too but he was one of the foot soldiers on the edman pettus bridge and he was part of the subsequent marches that were successful. so, i relate to bucarry. and the pride, right? he had to invent himself, right? his parents were sharecroppers. they were warning people like

john lewis, a black man, to live out the full measure of his life and that's exactly what he did. and it was a dangerous thing to do, right? to really go against the white supremacist regime that existed in the south. as a boy, he heard about people who were lynched, right? and that is why his parents were so fearful of him getting into what he called good trouble because this good trouble could get somebody killed. and he saw that. right? people like medger evers as well. but he persisted in that final public moment. him standing and the blazen. he was standing there and along with them, the legacy of martin luther king, and dianne, all the folks who were with him in those years and really trying to forge

vision of the kwuncountry that founders never really wanted, right? the founding in 1776, another founding with freedom of the slaves in 1865. 100 years later, another set of founders, right? john lewis and martin luther king, who pushed this nation to live out what the words of the constitution say that didn't really account for black and brown folk and women to be a part of this american experiment and john lewis there, he comes to a capitol where he spent 30 years. and he comes to the congress, where it is the most diverse congress we'd ever seen in the history of this country. more women serving in congress than ever served before. and that is the progress he wanted and that's the progress he continued to pushes for. and we'll see more of that progress, right? because of the work that john lewis did and the work he's inspiring others to do.

people like bacari sellers and people in congress now, young folks, who are in those seats in congress and inspired by john lewis and good and who learn from him and who wanted to join him in the work that was his life's business. he really was a public servient, right? his humble mission is to be preacher. he started out preaching to the chickens on his parent's farm. and 80 years later we all joined the church of john lewis. as he preached the gospel of equality and of humanity and racial and economic equity. so, we're so grateful today that he got to live -- so many folks, whose lives were cut short just through the stress of livering

as a black person in america. so, we're grateful to his parents that they gave john lewis to us and that he helped create this world we live in now. >> and i'm so grateful you shared that story about your late father crossing the bridge. the pettus bridge has become such a symbol and so inextricably linked to john lewis. but it's also a symbol of -- you saw the troubles he had trying to cross. and that's what we all remember. i'm sorry there, was one of the service members had -- this is of course an incredibly hot day in washington d.c. and one of the service members appears to have fainted or -- we don't know if they lost consciousness but they've been tended to. so, that is what you have been seeing playing out on your screen there. to the point of the bridge, he

then came forward across the bridge with other people successfully as you pointed out and it would become a symbol. he would bring people along the bridge. i think it's such a symbol of how john lewis really reached out to bring other people along. that is a key part of his legacy. and several years of bringing folks from across the aisle, bringing republicans. that bridge a symbol, not only bridging political divides but generational divides. >> let's lishen in.

>> forward march.

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>> see house speaker nancy pelosi waiting inside the capitol rotunda as the casket of congressman john lewis is brought inside.