Mourners gathered for a memorial service for John Lewis on Saturday in his hometown of Troy, Alabama.

Lewis, a civil rights pioneer and longtime member of Congress who died last week, will be honored with a series of memorials in Alabama, Washington, D.C. and Georgia in the coming days.

Family members spoke of their experiences growing up with Lewis and pressed for his legacy of civil rights to be kept alive.

Lewis, a Democratic member of Congress from Atlanta for 33 years and protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died on Friday of pancreatic cancer at age 80.

Lewis was a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he met after writing to him when Lewis was just 18. He was the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, having stood beside King when he made his "I Have a Dream" speech.

MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7192266/barack-obama-john-lewis-tribute/

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