Nation Remembers Civil Rights Leaders John Lewis, C. T. Vivian

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — John Lewis saw the line of Alabama state troopers a few hundred yards away as he led hundreds of marchers to the apex of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965. Armed with gas canisters and nightsticks, the troopers were flanked by horse-riding members of the sheriff’s posse. A crowd of whites milled around nearby.

Sometimes I wonder if history is trying to tell us something.

July 17, for example. In the morning came news of the death of C.T. Vivian. At night, the news that Rep. John R. Lewis (D-Ga.) passed away. Two men linked by decades of struggle, success and the deep truth that struggle itself is a kind of success. They met long ago, in the days of tiny television sets and black ribbon neckties and automobiles with fins stamped from sheet metal.

Flags at the White House and U.S. Capitol were lowered to half staff Saturday morning to honor the late Rep. John Lewis, who died Friday night at the age of 80 and President Trump ordered all American flags to be lowered nationwide for the rest of the day.