SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento community leaders share how Congressman John Lewis not only left a profound impact elsewhere throughout the country but within Sacramento as well.
The 80-year-old civil rights icon died on Friday after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Lewis helped organize the march on Washington and was alongside Dr. Martin Luther King for numerous civil rights demonstrations.
California State NAACP President Alice Huffman brought Lewis to Sacramento to campaign for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
"He's a man of his own conviction," Huffman said. "He doesn't get detoured by yours. He was a great man, a strong man and will stick to his convictions."
Huffman fondly remembers the man whom she describes as resilient.
"He was always John," Huffman said. "He was what he stood for, and that was the thing that made him stand out. He never backed down."
Lewis was also a mentor to younger activists, like Reverend Shane Harris. Harris was at the forefront of the Stephon Clark protests in Sacramento.
Sacramento police shot and killed Clark in his grandmother's backyard after they mistook his cellphone for a gun in 2018.
"[Lewis] began to drop these nuggets of wisdom every time he saw me, so he had a profound impact on my journey, as someone who really cared about young leaders coming up in the country," Harris said.
Harris said Lewis asked once what he plans on doing next. Harris told Lewis he wanted to either get into activism or politics.
"And he says, well if you're heading anywhere in politics, or you want to be taken serious. He says make sure that you keep your style conservative. You don't want a lot of confusion on how you look."
Harris said he hopes young people continue to carry on Lewis's legacy.
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