all to his home for dinner here in washington, d.c. one of the most special experiences that i've ever had up here in washington. no question about it. just to listen to him tell the stories that he told about preaching to the chickens when he was growing up, and in alabama. about being with dr. king and the stories that he told. just great, great memories. what an honor for me to have been able to experience that. >> what about the acrimony there in washington? as you know, our nation's capital has unfortunately -- it's become synonymous with gridlock and just vitriol being spewed. what did he ever say to you about the environment of washington, d.c., the nastiness of modern politics? >> well, you know, it was interesting. i told you about the stories that he shared with us about dr.

king, and how they were actually trained not to respond physically, but, you know, it was civil disobedience knop question about that. yes, we did talk about the acrimony as you described, we did talk about that and he always was careful to point out you got to rise above that. you've got to stay focused and you've got to remember what the prize is. not necessarily those words, but that was what i took from it, and i tell you, again, it was just an honor to have known john lewis and an honor to have served with john lewis. >> as you probably are aware, congressman clyburn is going to offer legislation later today to rename the voting rights act, the john lewis voting rights act. it would restore a key part of that act. the house has passed it. congressman, do you think the

senate should take it up and pass it as well? >> well, certainly that will be up to the senate. and it will be judged on the, on the merits of the legislation. you know, i don't want us to get caught up in the politics of naming it after someone. you have to consider the legislation itself. i know that what we passed here in the house, it was on a very partisan vote, and i did vote against it, but at the same time, when -- when we honor john lewis, we need to remember that this is someone who set the greatest of examples. this is someone who gave of himself, and when we keep that in mind, i think we do the right thing, and i think we rise above all the other things that are noise outside of that. >> congressman buddy carter. a member of the georgia delegation. congressman, thank you. thanks for your time. do appreciate it, sir. >> thank you. thank you. i want to bring in jonathan

capehart now. mr. capehart, of course a pulitzer prize winner opinion writer fore"washington post" host of podcast "keep up" and also had the chance to walk the edmund pettus bridge in selma with john lewis. on four separate occasions as pe civil rights pimm grimmage commemorating of bloody sunday and also congressman lewis', at his last appearance in june at black lives matter plaza in our nation's capital and he wrote about that for the "washington post." mr. capehart, thank you for being with me this afternoon. 57 years after speaking at that historic march on washington, what was it like for now congressman lewis to be back at black lives matter plaza at such a consequential moment in our country's history? >> congressman lewis wanted to see it. he wanted to see it with his own

eyes. and his chief of staff reached out to me saying the congressman wanted to see it, but the one thing he wanted to do was to find a photographer who could, you know, capture the moment. just privately. so i helped him find the photographer, but i said, michael, i want to be there, too. i want to witness this with my own eyes. so my husband and i, we went. 6:35 in the morning. on a sunday morning. congressman lewis arrived, got out of the car, and in addition to you showing the picture, just showing pictures of him on the ground there, standing on the big block yellow letters, but we went to a building on the northwest corner of 16th and k streets where he could get that sweeping view of black lives matter as it stretches two long blocks from k street headed towards the white house, as you see there. you see him standing there

maiyoriel bowser of washington, d.c. i'm looking at this man born into a segregated america, a country born into that viewed him as less of a man. and beat him, and not just him but the countless, hundreds of thousands of african-americans and others who marched for justice and marched for equality. who demanded that this country live up to and live out the words in its founding documents. this man who even as a member of congress never stopped fighting for justice. never stopped fighting for equality. you may remember after, i believe it was -- i believe it was the shooting at parkland, where congressman lewis led a

sit-in on the floor of the house of representatives, and his colleagues joined him in his show of civil disobedience in the heart of american government on behalf of victims of gun violence. that's who congress man lewis was, and, you know, i've shed a lot of tears, craig, as i'm sure millions of americans have since congressman lewis died think be about who he was and what he meant and for me, the honor of having shared so much time in his presence was magical. but i've been smiling a lot. i've been watching your show and watching msnbc's coverage of him coming in on that plane with united states of america on it. the honor guard. the salendity of a strong nation

assing jon meacham calls an american saint. as an american it makes me unbelievable proud that this country who treated him so poorly when he was born. so poorly as a young adult, so poorly as an adult, would honor him in this way. it is an incredible split screen for the country where on the one hand we have seen so many norms, so many traditions obliterated. and yet here we have sort of us going back to who we are. our ability to honor true heroes, true american heroes has not been obliterated. and so as an american and certainly as an african-american, i am just thankful that we have had someone like john lewis, and i'm thankful that this nation has advanced and progressed enough

to be able to give him the sendoff he deserves. >> a proper sendoff indeed, my friend. just as we watch this symbol of sacrifice, weave his way through our nation's capital. here, here, my friend. up know, jonathan, i decided last night to cue up "good trouble" again, and i -- i thoroughly enjoyed seeing you in that. for folk whose have not watched it, i would encourage you to check it out. it really does a fantastic job capturing the man who was john lewis. jonathan, in your last conversation with the congressman, what did you take away from it? >> well, it was interesting.

we were having this conversation -- look, craig, as a journalist you know when you get a big get you take it. even if you had just talked to him a couple months ago. so congressman lewis wanted to talk about the documentary. about john lewis, "good trouble." and he wanted to say, here's what was in the film, and -- but the conversation had the feel, to me, in that moment of a final conversation. so at the end of the interview, i asked him. i said, congressman lewis, there are protests all over the country right now, and invariably those protesters, those young people who are out in the streets are going to meet frustration. they're going to see not all of their goals met. they're going to maybe decide that it's not worth it to fight anymore. that it's not worth it to push for justice. what advice would you give them

to keep them going, given your own history. given what you've been through? and he said, i would tell them to give until you can give no more. that your obligation is to leave the -- leave this little place we call earth, our home that we call earth, a little better than we found, than you found it. and that is john lewis personified in that quote. he gave until he could give no more. up until the very last minute. his, until his last breath. and i think for anyone who truly wants to honor him and his memory and his legacy, that they will give until they can give no more. and, craig, this video of traffic stopped, people lined up -- >> yeah. >> -- on the roadway paying

homage. this is america. this is what the united states does. >> here, here. stand by for me, my friend, if you can. love to spend some more time with you in just a bit, but as jonathan just mentioned there, these images on the ground as the casket of john lewis approaches downtown washington for the final time. it would also appear as if we have a go prpro camera position here. we are going to get an excellent vantage point for the duration of this ride. again, we are told that this is a ride that is going to last close to two hours before finally making its way to the rotunda. nicole hannah jones, staff write werer for the "new york times" and creator of the 1619 project, that history of slavery in america for which she was

awarded a pulitzer fries. nicole, i couldn't help in one of those pictures that we just showed of john lewis. i couldn't help but notice he was wearing what appeared to be one of your hats. he was wearing a 1619 hat. did you see that? >> yes. so that's not an official "new york times" project hat, but he certainly is evoking that 1619 year, that 400 year legacy and 400 year history, and we have seen that all in the protests over the past few months. this is really an effort to connect what we are seeing today to this ongoing legacy, and i was really proud of that representative lewis, that he was wearing that hat. every member of congress actually received a copy of the 1619 project, and i know that this was a valuable way for us to see not just the prism of his life and struggle but the prism of the struggle to make america

a democracy. america a true democracy, which we know was john lewis' lifelong work. >> again, as we're having this conversation, it really is striking to see the number of people who have hopped out of their cars along the interstate to get one last glimpse of john lewis' casket as it makes its way to the nation's, to our nation's capitol. nicole, i know you spent some time talking to the congressman about freedom summer and about that particular time in his life. what did he tell you about that chapter in his book? >> so freedom summer, of course, was this effort in 1964 to bring democracy to mississippi, and the ground zero of that struggle was greenwood, mississippi, which was actually my father's ho

hometown. greenwood was one of the most violent places in america for black people and mississippi the most violent state in america for black people. they knew that this was going to be a dangerous and bloody and deadly fight, and yet they were determined to put their bodies on the line and go down there and wage this battle. and the thing that i think we need to really understand is, freedom summer was a, intentionally biracial fight, and the reason that it was intentionally biracial is that representative lewis and the other architects like bob moses understood that america cared more about white people experiencing violence than black people and that if you wanted this country to pay attention, white lives also had to be on the line. of course, some of the first deaths were schwarner and goodman, and mr. cheney, two white civil workers and one black mississippian a civil

rights worker and that really is what catalyzed the press coverage around freedom summer. so i imagine as he saw this biracial, multiracial movement right now, that he had to feel a great deal of both pride, but also sadness that black lives -- black people calling for their freedom is never enough n. that there always has to be a multiracial struggle for us to seem to understand the value of black lives. >> there has to be this epiphany, it would seem, in every generation. >> right. >> nicole, quickly while i have you. is the 1619 project, for folks no the familiar with it, really it's just a fantastic collection of journalism. have you been at all surprised, nicole, at the fact that it has also become the latest thing in our country to be politicized? >> i am truly surprised that a

year after its publication, the 1619 project published in august of last year, that it has somehow become a right-wing talking point. i think that speaks to the cultural neemoment that we're i that the strategy for the right seems to be trying to stoke these culture wars, and 1619 project has kind of fallen right into the middle of that, but it's also, because this moment that we're in, it's really questioning the foundation upon which this country was built and how long this country had been willing to sustain second-class citizens for black americans. i mean, we are honoring john lewis today, and he's probably most famous in the american psyche for nearly dieing on the edmund pettus bridge for voting rights, and yet the voting rights act has been gutted. we know that there is a widespread voter suppression and fears about voter suppression in

the upcoming election. so we both honor this man and the history, but also ignore the way that the history is shaping our modern politics and modern society. so i view what is happening with the 1619 project as very revealing about the state of our nation. >> nicole hannah jones. nicole, thank you. thanks as always. do appreciate you. as we continue to take in these powerful images of the flagged-draped casket of john lewis in that hearse headed to its first stop. the martin luther king jr. memorial. we continue to see folks taking pictures along the route. we are going to pause for just a few moments, but we will have much, much more, including the new effort to rename that aforementioned bridge in selma, alabama, after the late congressman from georgia. >> tech: at safelite, we're committed to taking care of you

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a live look once again at late congressman john lewis' casket making its way to our national capital. this is the scene just outside washington. his first stop on the route as he makes husband way to the rotunda to lie in state. as you see, more folks there on the right side of the road, stopping to pay their respects, but as you can see here from joint base andrews, his first stop will be the martin luther king jr. memorial and then after that, a number of other stops before he eventually makes his way to the u.s. capitol. one of those stops will be the brand new black lives matter

plaza there on 16th street. and as i understand it, geoff bennett, it is a plaza that just got a brand new coat of yellow paint in anticipation of the congressman passing through. >> reporter: you're right about that, craig. fresh pablt int on the street a the city erected a ten-foot-high poster of the congressman as you see over my shoulder and members of phi beta sigma taking pictures in front of it. you mentioned the hearse will pass by so many many places and a bit of context. you mentioned this is new. you're right. until a couple months ago known simply at 16th street but d.c. mayor muriel bowseral allowed

for this and after this plaza was unveiled congressman lewis came here and gave what amounted to a benediction. he said the people of d.c. have sent a strong and powerful message. we've been talking all morning and afternoon about the many ways the congressman changed american life and american politics. one of the ways that doesn't get as much attention is the way in which he shaped and mentored this newest generation of organizers, of activists. he held that virtual town hall for former president obama, in fact, just a couple of months ago and imparted so much wisdom to those young activists and also helped chart a path. set an example how activists can harness that passion and find a way to help craft policy, that, of course, going from being a civil rights activist to becoming a public office holder, an elected official. he has done that.

just over the last couple of months, in fact, we've seen in particular more black positions-borne out of the black lives matter movement when key elections, win key election. when he comes here, in many ways a full circle movement given he grew out of the civil rights movement and by the force of his life and the example he set has inspired hundreds of thousands perhaps millions of activists to come, craig. >> geoff, are they playing music there? >> reporter: yes. you can hear it, since you're asking about it. you can probably hear the freedom music they've been playing over speakers here. there's a professional harmonica play here will also play when the congressman comes through here. there was a lot of thought nap phrase,he details" a lot of love and detail went into crafting what will happen here as the funeral procession for the late congressman passes by these two blocks, craig. >> another reason i love washington, d.c.

geoff bennett for us there at black lives matter plaza. geoff, thank you, sir. still with me, maya wiley, former u.s. assistant attorney for the southern district of new york and also, of course, a nationally renowned racial justice leader, and professor. again, i continue to be struck by the number of people who despite the near 100-degree heat in our nation's capital's hopping out of their cars to get one glimpse, one last glimpse of the late congressman to snap that one last picture on their phone as well as he makes his way to first the martin luther king jr. memorial there. how should he be remembered, professor, whi wiley what shoul congressman lewis' legacy be? >> you know, i thought senator booker said something so important about him being john

lewis, being radical in love, and that part of the just giant that he was for justice was that. it was a loving justice. but it was also a radical justice, and we should remember that as we're talking about black lives matter, as we're hearing older generations kind of scolding younger people for demanding massive structural change, and not being satisfied with a tinkering or an incrementalism that just doesn't feel right after decades of promises that remain unfulfilled, including for this generation. so just remember his speech at the march on washington. there was a first speech before the one he delivered, and martin luther king and afill randolph were concerned it was too fiery

and sent baird to talk to lewis and asked him to tone it down. and it's not that the substance of his speech was the problem. they were concerned how it would be reserved, but one of the things john lewis said was, in direct critique of the kennedy administration on a civil rights bill that the administration has drafted. he said it was too little too late, and he said it would not change police brutality. he said it would not address the black women making $5 a week for a family earning $100,000 a year. he was very explicit and pointed around not just police violence, although it included that, but everything around the conditions of blackness that were fundamentally constructed into the u.s. fabric and he was still challenging that. >> congressman john lewis was woke long before the rest of

them, professor. professor maya wiley, always good to have your insight, professor. we're going to pause for just a few moments here as congressman john lewis' casket is just a few short miles away from his first stop.

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welcome back as we continue to remember john lewis. we can tell you that the late congressman's flag-draped casket is now officially in washington, d.c. on its way just a few minutes away, we're told, from his first stop there at the martin luther king jr. memorial. and there is -- yep. there's main avenue headed downtown. i know that exit well. probably somewhere between five and ten mittsnutes away. joined by msnbc activist and member brittany cunningham. you wrote a beautiful piece in "time" magazine an congressman lewis. you called on the next generation to make him proud, to do him proud. how did he influence you personally? how did he inspire you? >> i mean, i wish we had enough minutes in the broadcast for me to tell you all of the ways in

which i have continuously have been inspired by congressman lewis' example. his persistent and consistency lout an entire lifetime devoted to justice? you know, there has been a running joke on social media that some people have been fighting for justice for just a few weeks and they're tired already. imagine doing this for your entire life? doing this into your 80th year and having chosen the work that could have cut your life much shorter but doing it continuously no matter what the danger could hold, and so i'm certainly inspired by his consistency over a lifetime of fighting for justice and also just inspired by his moral clarity. maya just talked about the power of love and radical love in john lewis' example, and that truly is rooted in his faith tradition. it's the faith tradition that reverend joseph lowry and rerch c.t. vivian shared and we lost all three in the first half of

this year, if we can really think about that critically. but we also have to recognize that, yes in a christian tradition, but most importantly in a tradition of moral clarity, love holds people accountable. love holds systems accountable. love is the substance of justice. so i think that we have to be very careful. my generation and others. not to reduce love into what dr. king called something that is sentimental and anemic and ultimately doesn't hold much power at all. we need to be thinking radically of the merits of love and power and recognize john lewis wielded's kind of love that said systems have to be just and equitable, fair and stop the everyday violence that black people experience by being black in america in order to truly embrace the kind of love that he talked about. it's not just a friendly or familial love or having a better conversation with your neighbor or having an ice cream cone with a police officer. this kind of love that we are

talking about radical love is the substance of justice. and until justice fully exists, that kind of love will not rain down in the ways that john lewis fought to see. >> you know, brittany, you put it perfectly there. for so many it's about a mahash tag or going to a march or maybe a protest, but for john lewis, from the time he was a teenager -- a teenager -- until his 80th year, his was a life devoted to service. you jut don't -- you just don't see that anymore. as we watch what was living history make his way by the martin luther king jr. memorial. we're told now that the motorcade, the procession, is going to pause, perhaps.

they are not going to do a full stop. brittany, you know, one of the -- there are so many great stories, but congressman lewis frequently told a great story of a staffer who approached him years ago as he had been tapped to introduce a young senator from illinois named barack obama. this, at a political convention where he would officially nominate him and the staffer said to the congressman, asked, congressman, are you at all nervous about getting up in front of all of these people? and the congressman then obviously in his 70s had to remind the young staffer that he had, in fact, spoken at the march on washington a few decades earlier. >> yes, indeed he did, and he participated in that historic day as a representative of a generation that was continuing

to build, continuing to keep their hands on the plow and continuing to push even further that sense of radical imagination. you heard maya talk about some of the substance of his speech that was toned down for the final delivery, but we have to recognize that congressman lewis started this as a young man and it's interesting, because there are people who will tell the story who were in school with him that they thought that perhaps this wouldn't be his work, because he wasn't necessarily someone of the oratorio style of a dr. king or other, but when john lewis, re meemds reminds us there is power in being awe thenuthentic in who y unashamed to say exactly what you mean and whether or not that is most poetic or the plain spoken language everyone can

find accessible, that there is power in showing um exactly as you are, no matter what that is to fight for what you believe in. on the steps of the lincoln memorial we have to recognize that he was representing a generation still emerging in that fight and that that generation has continued to pass the torch and we don't have to ask what we would have been or have done in the march for democracy and freedom. because we are in the era of justice work right now. we are in the middle of a revolution that is not just american but global. so if you're wondering if you would have been brave enough to stand on those stairs next to or behind or at the podium like john lewis, you don't have to actually wonder or imagine. you can make sure that you are determined to be a person who lives up to his legacy right now every single day in your own community. >> brittany, do stand by for me,

if you can. this is the scene right outside the martin luther king jr. m memoial in washington, d.c. the family travels behind the hearse you see here. they have paused. this is the first stop along the route, as you see a number of passersby stopping as well to snap a picture, to pay their respects to the late congressman as well. it is -- impossible to overstate the significance that martin luther king jr. had on a young john lewis. john lewis, 15 years old when he said he was moved to join the movement by dr. king, and by rosa parks as well.

there likely would not have been the john lewis that we know, had it not been for dr. martin luther king jr., as the late congressman's hearse now moves to its next stop. i'm joined by phone by another civil rights leader, activist. bernard lafayette, who was college roommates with congressman lewis and mr. lafayette, your name came up on our broadcast just a few minutes ago. you, too, were a part of this -- this push to desegregate buses in the south and i know that you had an opportunity to talk to your friend by phone just a week before he slipped away. what can you tell us about that conversation, mr. lafayette? >> well, it was kind of different, because he wanted to talk to me, john lewis, and he

had his assistant there, michael, to give me a call. so i said, okay. so i talked to john, it was very interesting, because he didn't have anything particularly to request of me, or any particular things he wanted to share. so i later surmised that what he wanted to do was just to hear my voice. but i want to emphasize that john was always the person who could predict things. that was one of the advantages he had. so he kind of looked ahead in the future, probably realized that what the impending situation was, and decided that

he wanted to prepare himself for it. so our conversation was very interesting to that extent. >> he just wanted to hear his friend's voice one last time. mr. lafayette, how did he convince you to get more involved in the fight for civil rights? as i understand it, you said that you were a bit reluctant as first? >> ah, yes. not so much as getting involved in the civil rights, but going to a workshop, and i was very busy with jobs and that sort of thing, and i did not, you know, think that i had time to do a workshop or anything. so i told him, no.

that i was on the second floor, a librarian, used to wash pots for the cafeteria. so actually i rejected the idea. but he was very insistent. because he said, this is the kind of stuff that we talk about all the time. at night, we both grew up in the south and we experienced segregation and had challenges and in both of our lives as young people. so we did talk about these things at night, and so i decided to go ahead to the workshop, just to shut his mouth, because he was not giving up. oh, that's one of the things people should know. he never gave up. if he had something on his mind that he wanted to accomplish, john lewis would put his body, soul and mind to it.

so he was convinced, okay, that he was going to get me to come, and he did. and but i had to quit my job once i got to that workshop, because this is exactly what i was looking for. so -- my job just went isn't jeopardy. went in jeopardy. >> bernard lafayette. mr. lafayette, thank you. we're all, we're all better because he convinced you to go to that workshop, sir. thank you, thank you. this is the scene on the back side of the lincoln memorial there. the hearse and the motorcade pausing for just a moment there at the lincoln memorial. this, the second stop on the

late congressman's journey to the capitol, where he will lie in state. our next stop after the lincoln memorial as we understand it, that motorcade is going to circle the back of the building, head down henry bacon, the constitution, and head towards the black lives matter plaza on 16th street. 16th and i streets there in northwest washington. we are privileged now to be joined by a man who served in the house of representatives with john lewis for more than two decades. south carolina congressman jim clyburn, member of the democratic leadership. long before they were colleagues in the lower chamber, congressman clyburn and john lewis were friends who grew up in the movement, and congressman, again, so honored to have you this afternoon.

you're taking this moment to honor your friend by permanently linking him to the voting rights act that he fought for through the years. re-introducing hr-4 as the john lewis voting rights act. tell us the message that you're hoping to send to your colleagues, and the nation, by doing that? >> well, thank you, craig, for having me. everybody knows that john came in to prominence, though with me it happened back in 1960 when we first met on moorhouse college campus, but for the rest of the world it was 1965. five years later on the edmund pettus bridge when he came within an inch of being killed trying to get the right to vote. at the time of that march, only 2% of african-americans in alabama were registered to vote.

and he was there with others. i think some 600, trying to get the right to vote. as a result of bloody sunday, as it became known, lyndon johnson took the floor in a joint session, ended his speech, it cass calling for a voting rights act, he ended that speech, with "we shall overcome." andy young, with whom i spoke this morning, said that was the only time he ever saw kihim cry when he ended that speech. in august 1965, the night that voting act was signed into law, i can -- the supreme court looks at that law seven years ago and gutted it. and they said to us, supreme court told us what we needed to do for it to be constitutional.

john lewis got with jim sensenbrenner, a republican from wisconsin, and a group of us and we worked on that bill and we had done what the supreme court asked us to do. and it passed the house as hr-4 and this morning, or this afternoon, i move and it got unanimous consent to rename that law the john r. lewis voting rights act of 2020, and now, this afternoon, the senate will re-introduce it with a new name. hopefully they will pass it. and send it to the president, and then to me. that will be the way to honor john r. lewis. words of great. they're sometimes meaningful, but the most meaningful thing that you could do is to put substance to those words.

you know, we learned in scripture, it's not their words but their deeds that really matter. so if you love john, want to honor john, let's do something and pass this law. this law. >> congressman, you know, most folks are familiar with what happened on edmund pettus bridge in 1965, but there are not as many people that are familiar with what happened to john lewis in rock hill, south carolina. and you've talked in the past one of a few regrets you probably have, but that being a regret, you not being able to help your friend in rock hill. for folks that aren't as familiar with that chapter in our civil rights story, bring us up to speed in what happened,

and why did you regret that day. >> well, i grew up in sumter, south carolina. and when i was growing up, i was a pretty good baseball player, growing up across town from bobby richardson. we both played second base. my coach was a man who had lost his job, he was a principal of a school, he was fired from the school for rejecting secondhand books. he ordered new books. the school board took the new books, sent it to the white school, sent him books from the white school that were already used and worked through. and newton mccain rejected that and was fired. he is my baseball coach. in 1961 when, this was after john and i met in 1960, in 1961

the freedom riots took place. they decided to go to rock hill as part of that ride because things had started to happen in rock hill. in february of 1961, the students decided not to pay their bill. they started what's known as jail or bail. freedom riots went through that. when they got there, they were met by the klu klux klan. that was the first time john lewis was ever assaulted was in rock hill, south carolina. nucom mccain called me, said he was going up to rock hill to get john, whananted me to go with h because i had been to rock hill earlier with a group marching alongside reverend ivory, a very fiery minister in a wheelchair. he was a big motivator. he called me to go with him. and of course, i had just asked

for a hand to get married, this is a month before we got married. she reminded me that i had taken on a new responsibility and she would not consent for me to go and i didn't go, and to this day i feel that i let john and others down. >> congressman jim clyburn, long time friend of john lewis, grew up in the movement with john lewis. always good to have you, my friend. thank you. be well. take care of yourself, okay? >> i appreciate it. thank you very much. >> we continue to watch the flag-draped casket make it through the streets of washington, d.c. this is northwest d.c. he is just a few blocks away from the new black lives matter

plaza. few moments ago we found out the washington, d.c. mayor, muriel bowser is presenting the family with some gift, we don't know precisely what just yet. on the right side of the screen, you see that plaza, takes up two city blocks. fresh coat of yellow paint, we're told applied just a short time ago in anticipation of this moment. joined by aaron haynes, editor at large at the 19, a nonpartisan nonprofit news room reporting on gender, politics, and policy. aaron, as we watch the motorcade make it through the plaza, talk about the tweet sunday. you tweeted there weren't just rose pet also lining the edmund pettus bridge, there were people. those same lines will likely return on election day.

how do you think john lewis will impact voter turnout, aaron? >> reporter: i think the passing of congressman lewis will be incredibly impactful, particularly for black voters headed to november. listen, i think even before congressman lewis passed, this is a year we knew issues of race and racism would be on the ballot for the voters. i think that's going to be true with an even greater sense of urgency. less than 100 days out from the election, congressman lewis is one of the people that we were hearing from, the importance of voting. he talked about the vote as something that was sacred, right? it is interesting to see, it does trace decades of shaping

our democracy that began at the steps of the lincoln memorial in washington. he is now at black lives matter plaza, something he got to see before the end of his that dec black lives matter in his own generation, long before it became a phrase that was coined as a hash tag for the rest of us. but he is going to have a profound impact on voters. at least that's what i hear from voters i talk to in november. >> thank you. ♪

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