III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 660 

Honoring and commemorating the life and legacy of Representative John 

Lewis. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2020 

Mr. PERDUE (for himself, Mrs. LOEFFLER, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. SCHUMER, 

Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CAPITO, 

Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAMER, 

Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DAINES, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

ENZI, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. GARDNER, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, 

Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. HYDESMITH, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. 

LEE, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. PAUL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. REED, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROMNEY, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SASSE, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. SCOTT of 

South Carolina, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. SMITH, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TILLIS, 

Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. UDALL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. YOUNG) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring and commemorating the life and legacy of 

Representative John Lewis. 


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•SRES 660 ATS 

Whereas the Senate mourns the loss of John Lewis, a titan 

in the struggle for civil rights and equality for all races, 

and commemorates his life and accomplishments; 

Whereas John Lewis was born during the era of Jim Crow 

in a segregated community in which racism and discrimination ran rampant; 

Whereas John Lewis’s moral clarity and unwavering commitment to nonviolence made his first passions preaching 

and ministry; 

Whereas John Lewis fought his first battle against segregation when he was just a teenager, authoring a petition for 

equal access to his local public library, where African 

Americans had paid for the construction of the facilities 

but were banned from checking out books; 

Whereas, before his 21st birthday, John Lewis established his 

commitment to ‘‘good trouble’’ by organizing sit-ins at 

segregated restaurants and theaters; 

Whereas John Lewis helped found the Student Nonviolent 

Coordinating Committee, which advocated for civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance against segregation 

across the United States, bringing him to the forefront 

of the struggle of the United States for civil rights; 

Whereas John Lewis participated in the 1961 Freedom 

Rides, which were a series of trips that tested a new desegregation order of interstate transportation facilities 

and resulted in multiple beatings and the firebombing of 

the bus that John Lewis was supposed to be riding; 

Whereas, at 23 years of age, John Lewis served as the 

youngest member of the ‘‘Big Six’’, which planned the 

1963 March on Washington, and worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, 


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•SRES 660 ATS 

Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young to advocate for racial 

equality and justice for all; 

Whereas John Lewis courageously led protestors across the 

Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, bravely bearing violence from the police to embody the struggle of the 

United States to live up to its founding ideals of equal 

justice under the law; 

Whereas the bravery of John Lewis during ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’ 

led Congress to pass, and President Lyndon B. Johnson 

to sign into law, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), ensuring that African Americans 

have the right to fully participate in the democratic process in the United States; 

Whereas John Lewis faithfully served the city of Atlanta between 1977 and 1981, embodying his election night 

promise to ‘‘bring a sense of ethics and moral courage’’ 

to the Atlanta City Council; 

Whereas John Lewis faithfully served the 5th congressional 

district of Georgia in the House of Representatives between 1987 and 2020, serving as the ‘‘conscience of the 

Congress’’ by continuing his pursuit of justice and truth 

in the capital of the United States; and 

Whereas the Senate commends John Lewis for his life and 

for embodying the spirit of love and dignity through his 

unceasing advocacy for reconciliation, justice, and the 

equality of all mankind: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate— 

3 (A) has heard with profound sorrow and 

4 deep regret the announcement of the death of 


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1 the Honorable John Lewis, a late Member of 

2 the House of Representatives; and 

3 (B) respectfully requests that the Sec4 retary of the Senate— 

5 (i) communicate this resolution to the 

6 House of Representatives; and 

7 (ii) transmit an enrolled copy of this 

8 resolution to the family of John Lewis; and 

9 (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stand 

10 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the mem11 ory of the Honorable John Lewis. 

Æ 


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