The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

I interviewed John Lewis 45 years ago. His commitment to voting rights never wavered.

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Columnist
July 27, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
President Barack Obama, center, holds hands with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), left, and Amelia Boynton Robinson, right, as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday protest march, during which Lewis and Boynton Robinson were beaten. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

As mourners honor the courage that earned Rep. John Lewis his reputation as the conscience of Congress, there is another characteristic that stands out for those who knew him from his days as a young civil rights activist.

Consistency.

Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, was among the most persistent and unwavering voices in the fight for African American voting rights.