Grisham responds for the democrats. Plus, insight and analysis from our powerful roundtable. And he always did that which was right from his heart. We celebrate the life and legacy of john lewis as he crosses the Edmund Pettus bridge one last time. Announcer from abc news, its this week. Here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. Good morning, and welcome to this week. On this sunday, as we celebrate a civil rights legend, the country is still in the grip of the coronavirus that has transformed our society, ravaged our economy, upended our politics and most tragic of all, cost so many lives, at least 145,000 in the u. S. This week, more than a thousand americans died on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday. Five days straight for the First Time Since may. And as the caseloads continue to climb, the president s poll numbers continue to fall. Now trailing joe biden by more than eight points with hundred days before the final votes are cast. Our first guest has his work cut out. We want to welcome mark meadows. His first sunday interview as white house chief of staff. Announcer this is an abc news special report, celebrating john lewis. Now reporting, george stephanopoulos. Good morning, and welcome as we celebrate the life and the legacy of john lewis. Called the conscioence of the congress, the civil rights icon and legend in the fight for civil rights in america now being laid to rest. Six days of memorials across the country. That is the scene in selma, alabama right now at the metropolitan chapel. Thank you for sharing him over and over again. Our nation is better off because of john robert lewis. My life is better. Selma is better. That is congresswoman terry sewell. So thank you, family. Thank you to his dedicated staff. Thank you to all those who loved john. Johns love was unique and allencompassing. It was powerful. You felt it radiate. I miss him dearly, but we are so deeply blessed to have been touched by his greatness. He will forever change selma and this nation. On bloody sunday in 1965, john was confronted by Alabama State troopers and their dog. They beat him with billy clubs, fracturing his skull, but john was determined to fight for equality and justice, putting his own life on the line in the service of others and a Brighter Future for everyone. John crossed bridges so many times, insisting that our nation live up to the ideals upon which it was founded. As he always said, he gave a little blood on that bridge. As always, john was humble. His humility rang true. As he takes his final march, that final crossing, john bridged the gaps that so often divided us. Our Political Parties working every day for a more just and equitable america. My heart is full knowing that john is crossing that selma bridge today in his final march. His final march, that final crossing so different from the first, speaks to the legacy that he leaves behind and the lives that he has changed. Its poetic justice that this time, Alabama State troopers will see john to his safety. They will accompany him on his last trip over the selma bridge and onto montgomery where he will lie in state at the capitol. John has left this earth, but his legacy remains on, and we continue to benefit from his lifes work. Hes laid out the blueprint for us to pick up the baton and continue his march, for Voting Rights, for civil rights, for human rights. John believed firmly that the best days of our nation lie ahead of us. I hope his passing causes us to rededicate ourselves to getting into good trouble, necessary trouble. Cant you hear him . Never give up. Never give in. Keep the faith. Keep your eyes on the prize. For john and our nation, lets make him proud. [ applause ] that was congresswoman terry sewell of alabama. Youll hear the musical selection from kristen glover. Precious lord take my hand lead me on, and let me stand i am tired, i am weak and i am worn through the storm and through, through the night lead me on to the light take, take my hand precious lord, and lead me on when my way grows thin precious lord linger near when, when my life is almost gone hear my cry, hear, hear my call oh, hold my hand, hold my hand, lord lets not fall take, take my hand, precious lord, and lead me on [ applause ] kristen glover, and now a prayer by pastor otis culiver from the baptist church. God, of our word weary ears. God of our solemn tears, thou who has brought us thus far on the way. Thou who has bowed our might, led us to the light, for in thy path we pray. Gracious father, with ecoe come your presence this morning reverencing you as our god. Understanding that it is you that made us and not we ourselves, that we are the sheep of your pasture, and it is in you that we live, move and have our being. We thank you for this day. We thank you for life and another opportunity to serve you this day and live out your purposes in the world. We thank you, lord, for this occasion as we have assembled ourselves here to give thanks to you for a life well lived. Thank you for congressman john lewis. Thank you, father, for his legacy, his legacy of being a freedom fighter, his legacy of being a foot soldier for justice. The legacy of being a servant of humanity as he walked humbly with you and as he always remembered his roots and always strived so that this world could be a better place. A more equitable world, a world that is more just and more righteous. Thank you for his service to humanity. Thank you, lord, that he was willing to get in the way. Thank you that he was willing to stir good trouble. Thank you for his voice, the voice that will resonate in our hearts and minds for years and generations to come. Thank you for his message. Thank you, lord, for using him for such a time such as this to bridge divides and help us become a more perfect union. I pray this morning for his family. I pray, lord, that you will comfort them as only you can, that you will undergo with them your strength and grant them your grace. I pray for your peace, thats the path of all understanding and peace in their hearts in their minds to christ jesus, our lord. And lord, i pray that we who are still remaining, who still have blood running warm in our veins, that we too will stand for justice, that we will stand for righteousness, that we will lift our voices for you. Lift our voices for the calls that is just and right. Until we hear your welcome voice say well done, good and thankful servant. As congressman lewis crosses the alabama river, we rejoice today knowing that hes already crossed the jordan river, and hes now resting in your presence. In jesus mighty name, we pray and answer all these things. Amen. All amen. Pastor otis culliver. This concludes the structured program. We just have a few notes that we need to give everyone. First and foremost, if we can just show some appreciation to the congresswoman. In selma, alabama as we prepare for the final crossing of the Edmund PettusMemorial Bridge by john lewis. That church, the Brown Chapel Church was the place where they prepared for the march on march 7, 1965, and now preparing for the final farewell to john lewis. As we prepare for that, lets listen to john lewis who recall that day in his own words. In 1965 in selma, alabama only 2. 1 of blacks voting age were registered to vote. The only time you could attempt to register to vote in selma, and most of alabama was on the first and third mondays of each month. You had to go down to the county courthouse, stand in line, go up some steps through a set of double doors and try to get a copy of the test and try to pass the test. Countless number of africanamericans stood in what i call unmoveable lines day in and day out. A young black man tried to protect his mother during a confrontation at the courthouse. He was shot in the stomach by a state trooper. A few days later he died at a local hospital in selma, and because of what happened to him, we made a decision for a movement that we would march from selma to montgomery to dramatize to the nation that people of color wanted to vote. So sunday afternoon, march 7, 1965 after church, we walked through the streets of selma, crossing the bridge, crossing the alabama river. We get to the highest point on the Edmund Pettus bridge, and down below we saw a sea of blue. We continued to walk, and a man said, im major jean claude for the Alabama State troopers. This is an unlawful march, and it will not be allowed to continue. You are ordered to disperse. Less than a minute and a half, the major said, troopers, advance. He came toward us, beating us with night sticks and clubs. I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a night stick. I thought i saw death. I thought i was going to die. That day became known as bloody sunday. There was a sense of righteous in the nation. The next day, there was a demonstration in different cities in america at the white house, at the department of justice. The American People didnt like what they saw happening in selma, alabama. Sunday that sparked a movement for Voting Rights and it began there. The Edmund Pettus bridge. Rachel scott is there for us today. Rachel, in 1965, that bridge was stained with blood. This morning, its lined with rose petals. Reporter thats exactly right, george. It was stained with john lewis blood, and today rose petals on the very streets where he bled for the right to vote. Hundreds gathering here today to honor the civil rights icon, a man who never settled, who always stepped up, always caused necessary trouble as he would say. Flowers at the foot of the bridge here, and, you know, in 1965, 55 years ago when john lewis marched across this bridge with hundreds of others, he looked at the name Edmund Pettus, napettus named after a kkk leader, and he was dreaming of a better america, and he was willing to put his body on the line for it. When he crosses the bridge for the final time, many say its because he has made america a better place. What was once a symbol of injustice is now a symbol of hope and civil rights for so many, and the Alabama State troopers who nearly took his life decades ago will now carry his casket across the state as we honor his legacy, george. Thank you. I want to bring in byron pitt. He was just 25 then, but a man filled with courage. Reporter well, george, without question. He was a 25yearold activist, an idealist, a man of deep and abiding faith. He talked about how he prayed as he crossed that bridge, the Edmund Pettus bridge. As rachel said, named after a confederate officer who went on to be a leader in the kkk and a u. S. Senator from the state of alabama. That bridge, george, is about four football fields long. John lewis says when he was crossing it, his biggest concern because he had confronted police before. His biggest concern was they might be tossed off the bridge which was about 100 feet off the ground, because john lewis couldnt swim. But he was willing to go forward anyway. I think about we just saw that image of his close friend, dr. Martin luther king jr. Who said not long after bloody sunday, that the arm of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice, and i think in some ways, today symbolized that. In 1965, john lewis was an agitator. He was confronted by the police. He showed up with 600 other people that crossed the bridge. They were denied. They came back two weeks later, 3,000 protesters eventually 50,000 people reached the montgomery statehouse, and then there is today, george, when john lewis crosses that bridge for a final time. He will go across this time i would imagine with millions of americans. People across the world who now see this former activist as a statesman, as a symbol of what is good in america. And thank you, byron. Pierre thomas as we prepare for this to happen right now, we remember that after those events on bloody sunday, just several months later, the Voting Rights act was introduced and passed through the congress. John lewis helped spark a movement, and it comes at a time in america where the streets are filled again. Reporter jorgeorge, what a remarkable day. Youre exactly right. Its about coming full circle. Theres a timing and a meaning of life. Facing a brigade of police as official enforcers of oppression, and in that moment, you can see the roots of mistrust today between africanamericans and the police. The angry mob was the police. The police beat him down. When you look at pictures of lewis from that era, he looks just like some of the young people today pushing for Racial Justice as part of the black lives matter movement. He identified with them. Wanted them to get into good trouble. It was quite something to see him down on black lives matter plaza recently here in d. C. , george. Emotional. It was full circle. The battle today still centers around human dignity, the desire today for africanamericans to be treated equally in the society with full respect, and sadly africanamericans are still fighting for their full humanity. They dont want to be treated as suspects first and citizens second. John lewis life was about that struggle, george. Pierre thomas, he fought on so many fonts. We want to bring in mary bruce for more on this. Started out as an activist and idealist, as byron said. Many years later, after serving the Carter Administration he decided it was time to get involved in a different way. Election to congress. Reporter he became known as the conscience of congress. He really was the moral compass in washington on so many issues over many decades in congress. He would lend his voice, his power to so many other cause. He had a kinship are other causes lending his clout and his voice to the fight for womens rights, lgbtq equality, gun reform and immigration, and still even, you know, in his final months and weeks still keeping up that fight. Im struck every time i look at these images that we have been seeing, just how rare it is to have someone like john lewis who was able to see his hard work, his sacrifice come to fruition, to see his legacy play out in such a meaningful way, you know, he was just 25 years old when he crossed that bridge, that image of to him with his hand in his pockets wearing that backpack that had just an apple, an orange, a toothbrush and a book on government. The things he thought he would need to get through one night in jail, and instead he changed the course of this history of our country, and to be able to start out his activism, fighting for something as simple as a library card, a seat at the lunch table, to change the course of Voting Rights in our country, and become a voice that would lend support to president s, and be one of the most powerful voices in congress, what a remarkable thing, and george, i was fortunate enough to have the chance to be there on the 50th anniversary when we saw congressman lewis and president obama march across that bridge. Ill never forget the words that lewis said on that day. He said we come to selma to be renewed. We come to be inspired. We come to be reminded that we must do the work that justice and equality calls us to do. Get out there and push and pull until we redeem the soul of america. Words that are so true still today, george. And there you see that remarkable scene there in selma. The casing that will carry john lewis coffin across the bridge one final time. Byron pitt as we wait, Martin Luther king was supposed to lead that march that day, but he had to preach, and john lewis led. Of course, it was king who was the mentor to lewis. Lewis first reached out to him as a very young man. What he got back was a bus ticket to come see the leader. Thats right. John lewis was 18 years old when he wrote to dr. King and said, dr. King, i want to help. John lewis wanted to serve in becoming a leader of the selc at university. It was a threequarters of a mile walk from the chapel to the bridge. Back in 1965, that chapel became a triage. They had nurses and doctors on hand, and medics because they knew there would be trouble. You know, george, in my last conversation with congressman lewis, i had the good fortune to interview him a number of times. It was after the george floyd incident, and he saw he saw a great similarity in what was happening in america now to 1965. He felt that as pierre talked about, and we heard in congressman lewis own words that bloody sunday was a Pivotal Moment in our nations history, that there had been beatings before captured on camera, but something about that moment changed america just as George Floyds moment changed america, and later in 1965 when president johnson was preparing to sign the Voting Rights act, he said this about bloody sunday. At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point and mends an ending search for freedom. So it was a century ago, and so it was last week in selma, alabama. John lewis was there. He was apart of that. Part of the reason why i think people so admired him or respected him in washington where, you know, george, its hard to find friends, john lewis had street cred. Everybody knew this was a man who didnt just talk the talk. He walked the walk. He was willing to go to jail 40 times. After bloody sunday, george, he was in the hospital for three days with a fractured skull and a concussion. As soon as he got out of bed, he went back to work, back to that bridge. And now we see the honor guard carrying him. The caisson is secure. They will now set off on a threeblock journey to the Edmund Pettus bridge. Rachel scott, give us a sense of the scene on those streets as they wait for the caisson to pass by. Reporter well, hundreds are gathering here, george, eager and ready to pay tribute to this civil rights icon. Songs of we shall overcome, they came with signs to honor his life and his legacy, and, you know, the Memorial Services like his fight for justice started in his hometown of troy, alabama. He was nicknamed the boy from troy. A nickname that Martin Luther king gave to him when they first met. A few blocks away from Troy University where hundreds came to honor his life and his legacy, john lewis was denied a library card. He was told that the library was told for whites only. Well, decades later, he would be elected to congres