Hello, everybody. Im john king in washington. Thank you so much for sharing this special day with us, special because today the nations capitol honors and remembers the late congressman john lewis, the man who meant so much to so many, a civil rights icon, a hero, the conscience of the congress for decades and the casket will arrive at joint base andrews moments from now. Lewis will begin his final journey to capitol hill. For more on his arrival congressman lewis was honored in his birth state of alabama over the weekend. That included one Last Crossing of the Edmund Pettus bridge, can you see it right there recruiting the route that lewis and others took on bloody sunday back in 1965 and then again later with Martin Luther king jr. On march for Voting Rights from selma to montgomery. Lewis body laid in state at the Alabama State capitol as people paid respects. Today there will be a ceremony in the u. S. Capitol rotunda. Leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus will take part and joe biden and his wife jill will pay their respects and theres no word yet on whether President Trump plans to visit. On the way today the motorcade carrying congressman lewis will pass and pause at some of this citys iconic sites, sites that hold special meaning for congressman leader, the Martin Luther king jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial where lewis spoke at the march on washington. He was the last living speaker from that seminal event, the africanamerican museum and lewis was behind the completion of that magnificent idea, the Supreme Court and the new black lives matter mural on the street near Lafayette Park near the white house. That is where lewis made his final public appearance. It is a flitting final path here in washington for congressman lewis who helped shape the landscape of this city and its history over more than 30 years. Cnns esmalvo is here on capitol hill to start us off on this somber day. Reporter its a Beautiful Day here in washington, d. C. Theres a great deal of anticipation on the john lewis. We suspect there will be a lot of people on capitol hill as they say goodbye and also celebrate his life as the conscience of the congress having evolved and served as an activist that have and really as a lawmaker here in washington, d. C. As you know, this event and these kind of eve vents laying in state are planned town to the minute and we saw just about so 34 this morning, the first plane landing at joint base andrews, that of former staffers and family members. We do expect that the casket that the body of john lewis will arrive with about 20 family members and current staffers, that from a c32 that will be arriving shortly. There will be a greeting, a very brief greeting by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her daughter as well as the head who is there at the base, and then you as you mentioned, it will be the motorcade going through the city to very special, special occasions and events, sites that were very important to john lewis. One of those, you mentioned, black lives matter plaza. We have learned that that is where the former first lady of d. C. Cora masters berry, she is going to pay her respects there. That, john, is a nod to the relationship, the very close relationship that john lewis had with the former, the late d. C. Mayor berry, both of them active in the Civil Rights Movement from the very beginning, and youll see those kinds of emotional connections play out throughout the city before the casket arrives here at 12 30, just before 1 00 where this will be a celebration, a private one for the leadership of congress ant Congressional Black Caucus, and then it will later open up to the public. It will be social distanced and outside. Its really a departure from what weve seen in the past, but, of course, they want everybody to be safe. It is going to be a Beautiful Day of remembrances and of tributes and stories as the day unfolds. John . Suzanne malveaux. Congresswoman nancy pelosi, a dear friend of the congressman, someone she relied on as a moral leader and spiritual leader, if you will, there in the congress to greet the procession. Congressman lewis will lie in state there as suzan just noted as we watch the beginning of the samies ant joint base andrews. Lets bring dana bash, is enearnedon and van jones. Nia, i want to start with you. Its sad because the congressman has left us. It is a celebration because well celebrate the key moments of john lewis life, but van jones, first to you. He was an organize and activist and in his final words it recent weeks and months he talked about his optimism, sad at the death of george floyd, sad at other tragic events in this country, but some optimism as he watched the Younger Generation get out in the streets to march, to demand change, to demand justice. Help us understand the context of this moment. Well, nobody could have had more joy and encouragement seeing young people protesting, young people speaking up and young people getting involved than john lewis because you have to remember he was one of those kids himself in 1960 when young people started sitting in at the lunch counters. The most effective Youth Movement i mean, young people all across the country doing everything that youve read about, but it was in nashville, tennessee where he and diane nash, lets not leave out the women, led those people so beautifully that they got the mayor of the city to come out and embrace the cause of those young protesters which turned the whole tide, so from a very, very young age he is a national figure. The from a very young age, hes leading a movement thats making a tremendous difference. Its smart and disciplined and hes a part of the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinated Committee which brings the best of those students from across the country together into a single organization, and then he becomes not just the head of it, he becomes a spokesperson for it at the march on washington and one of the most courageous frontline people, so everything you see these young people going through, coming into their voice for the first time, marching, sometimes being arrested, he did himself, sometimes before their parents were born and youre in the situation at the end of his life, despite all the division in the country, he is a unifying figure. Hes the conscience of a nation and hes seeing the next generation take up his cause, so, yeah, theres a lot of reason to be sad this year, but the fact that somebody can go from being a youth leader and a student heard to being the conscience of the nation with courage and consistency and with compassion and conviction in every decade of their lives is a reason for us to be proud to be americans and proud of john lewis. Amen to that. The niamalika henderson, to vans point about the generational shift here, it is sad to pass the torch at any moment. This is happening in the middle of this National Reckoning on race and racial inequality, racial disparity, whether were talking about politician or the Health Care Disparities we see playing out in the covid19 crisis as well. Its happening as were now 99 days from a president ial election in which, lets just put it right on the table, congressman lewis was often at odds with the current president of these United States. He was indeed at odds with the president of the United States, and he lametnted wherea in the fact of the 19660s the protesters could rely on the federal government to intervene in their cause he felt like in more recent times, that that wasnt the case, and he at some point in one of his books, i think this was his last book, at times he felt like conditions now were as bad as they were before, and so there was some pessimism there at times for jop lewis who was incredibly optimistic overall, a true visionary, even when he was a young kid growing up in troy, alabama imagining a new world, right, continuing the fight from the founders to really make good the words of the founding fathers. He saw himself in that light. He also acknowledged that it wasnt Just One Movement that would lead to full equality. It had to be built on several movements, right . You you couldnt just hope in one levered. You had to continue that fight. Such a poignant moment for his last public appearance to be at that plaque lives matter plaza because if you remember there are some folks in the Civil Rights Movement, some older generations of civil right leaders who had been critical of the black lives matter movement, criticizing for them to being more organized and having a more disparate leadership and there he was passing the baton and as you said continuing to criticized this administration, trying to push this administration, push republicans and push the public and push all parties in a way that where people who grew up like him, black and poor in the south and all over the country could realize their full humanity, reach their full potential. You see here these images, this poor kid who grew up, right . His great grandfather born into slavery, both of his parents sharecroppers, and here he is being remembered for the hero that he was to all of us. We couldnt be here were it not for his tremendous courage and you think of what he did, right . Putting his body on the line so that america could really move forward and realize the full potential of all of those founding words and the founding documents, and here he is now being celebrated as the legend that he was. Reporter and youre watching niamalika henderson, thank you for your thoughts. Youre watching this. This is joint base andrews, casket carrying the late john lewis to be greeted by the House Speaker nancy pelosi to begin this remarkable journey through the nations capitol that will end with congressman lewis lying in state at the United States capitol. A very quick break and when we come back well continue with this very special day here in washington, remembering john lewis. Tmobile and sprint have merged. And tmobile doesnt just have a bigger network, but a better one than ever before, with scam protection built into its core. Introducing, scamshield, free from tmobile. Get fewer scam calls. Period. With tmobiles supercharged network, you can say goodbye to annoying scam calls, and feel free to answer your phone again. Hello [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. Live pictures here at joint base andrews. This is an air force jet carrying the body of the former congressman, the late congressman, john lewis, civil rights icon, American Hero, member of the house of representatives for more than 30 years, the conscience of the congress is what his colleagues call him. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on hand to begin, to greet her friend, and then to begin a procession through the streets of washington ultimately ending at the United States capital where congressman lewis will lie in state. Among those who knew him and consider asked him a mentor and a friend, senator cory booker, democrat of judge who joins us live from capitol hill. Senator, youre 51 years old. I want you to talk about your experiments with congressman lewis in those halls. I want you to start as a young black man growing up in newark whats your first memory of being told this man is a hero, somebody you need to watch, somebody you should follow . Well, i think that what makes heroes and saints great is their humanity, and my mom from Fisk University in her days doing sitins and demonstrations knew john lewis personally, and it was his humanity that really spoke, but i learned coming to the senate that he shaped their lives more than he knew. My parents were denied housing in the suburbs of new jersey time and time again, turned around because of the color of their skin. One of the courageous lawyers who organized a sting operation where white couples posed as my parents to eventually buy the house that i grew up in. When i went back to interview him for my book i was just stunned and got chills when he told me he was sitting comfortably on his couch and saw the march on the Edmund Pettus bridge and was so shaken by it and had to get up out of the comfort of his house and what he did is offer pro bono work to that Civil Rights Organization that got my parents n. Johns courage shaped my life from the very inception and then to get to know him personally when we were both on the shelf defining if our roots with henry lewis gates and i could the to see what the son of a sharecropper, whose grade grandfathers was registered to vote in the postreconstruction period and have him those rights torn away from them, and john actually fight and succeed in getting a chance to vote as well, so these these powerful streams where i am the son of that generation, of people who were peers of john lewis, i learned until i got to the senate and actually became his friend the powerful influence that he had in shaping the course of my events, and on the day i got sworn in days after my dad had died, my mom took me to see john lewis. Thats the last thing i did before i went to see harry reid and joe biden to be sworn in and to have john lewis with sump humility say to me how grateful he was because i was the fruition and in many ways a symbolic fruition of his efforts to see the fourth black person popularly elected to the United States senate. Its just been an unbelievable experience and then as a senator he and i did things i never could have imagined from a multiplehour journey to go see jimmy carter for bible study from atlanta to plains, georgia, to signature on the Capitol Steps during the Health Care Debate and watching hundreds and hundreds of people to come out and sit at his feet literally and him talk about why this fight was just yet another stone in the long road that we had to place to justice and equality. This is somebody whose humanity made him so much greater than me. He was not beyond your reach. He was not superhuman. He was frail and fragile in the way every human, is but yet despite that he showed a level of courage and commitment over decades that just is that will forever be inspiring to me . And to that point, i want to play a moment. This is june 2017. The congressman joined you for a Facebook Live discussion of a Senate Health care bill at the time. Lets listen to this had a little bit, and ill talk to you on the other side. I say to people all the time when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to stand up, to do something, to say something. It is remarkable, and you know it better than most so help us understand. A lot of egos where you work and a lot of egos in politics and i say that with no disrespect. He was somebody who was just so unique. Had the booming voice when he had wanted that but then had that whisper right there that was essentially a kick in the you know what to get up off your you know what and do something. Well, that was one of the more powerful moments of my life. Stat down on the steps and opened up Facebook Live and began talking about health care and his softspoken voice that demanded so much power and speaking from a place of pure sir two, that as people that watched that came out. We didnt invite anybody. We opened up a Facebook Live and just started talking on the Capitol Steps and hundreds and hundreds of people by the end of the evening, and somebody had a photo montage of the start with the two of us sitting this and eventually hundreds and hundreds of people signature on the steps in front of john lewis as he talked to us about the urgency of this moment in history and how it connected directly to when he was a young person fighting for civil rights and Voting Rights. Senator cory booker of new jersey, grateful for your time on this day. Al mix of sadness and celebration as the capitol pays tribute to an American Hero and certainly a god friend of yours and a mentor in the United States congress. Senator booker, youre watching, this is joint base andrews. Soon youll see the activities under way and soon the processions will begin through the streets of washington. Well take a quick break. Theres breaking news at the white house this day. The highest ranking Coronavirus Diagnosis yet, the president S National Security adviser, robert obrien. Live pictures there. This is joint base andrews just outside of the Nations Capital in maryland, the body of john lewis, civil rights icon and American Hero, 30 years plus representing the atlanta district and its suburbs and his casket will be taken through the streets and many landmarks here. The House Speaker is on hand at joint base andrews, friends and family members, Congressional Staff members as well as we begin this journey. Our special coverage throughout the day. Joining me is cnns dana bash, niamalika henderson and van jones. Dana, i want to come to you. You knew him very well from all the time you spent on capitol hill, but i want to start the co