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John Lewis evokes Las Vegas shootings in last essay

Jaquenette Ferguson from Oxon Hill, Md., gestures as she gets her picture taken beside a portra ...
Jaquenette Ferguson from Oxon Hill, Md., gestures as she gets her picture taken beside a portrait of the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., near the East Front Steps of the U.S. the Capitol, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
An officer guards the flag-draped casket of Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., as he lies in state on the ...
An officer guards the flag-draped casket of Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., as he lies in state on the East Front Steps of the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The casket of Rep. John Lewis sits in a hearse during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday, Jul ...
The casket of Rep. John Lewis sits in a hearse during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday, July 26, 2020, in Selma, Ala. Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, died Friday, July 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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By John Katsilometes Las Vegas Review-Journal
July 30, 2020 - 10:15 am
 
Updated July 30, 2020 - 7:29 pm

Civil rights legend John Lewis referred to the Route 91 Harvest shootings on the Strip in a posthumous essay published Thursday morning in The New York Times.

Lewis writes:

“If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.”

The 23-year-old McClain died while being detained by police last summer in Aurora, Colorado.

Lewis submitted the finished piece July 15, just two days before his death, with the condition that it would be published on the day of his public funeral. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the eulogy during the service in Atlanta.

Lewis was honored Monday at the U.S. Capitol.

Read Lewis’ essay, under the title, “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation,” on the Times’ website.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak also tweeted to thank Lewis for remembering Las Vegas in his final essay.

Three former presidents were eulogizing Lewis during his funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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