John Lewis is the first black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda

A memorial for the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives who died July 17, is seen pictured on the east side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama. Credit: Reuters Photo

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. and a civil rights icon, will lie in state Monday in the Capitol Rotunda, the first Black lawmaker to receive one of the highest American honors, before a viewing for the public to be held outside.

With the Capitol closed to the public amid the coronavirus pandemic, Lewis will spend only a few hours lying in state under the Capitol dome after an invitation-only ceremony reserved exclusively for members of the legislative branch Monday afternoon. About 80 lawmakers are expected to attend, according to a Capitol official.

Afterward, Lewis’ coffin will be moved outside to the Capitol steps, and members of the public will be able to line up — with masks required and social distancing enforced — to view it from the plaza below Monday evening and all day Tuesday.

Among those paying their respects will be Vice President Mike Pence and Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, according to their public schedules. President Donald Trump is not scheduled to attend.

Here is the schedule of events to honor Lewis:

1. Arrival ceremony: 1:30 p.m. Monday
2. There will be an invitation-only arrival ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.
3. The Rev. Grainger Browning Jr. of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, will give the invocation, followed by remarks from Pelosi and McConnell.
4. There will be a presentation of wreaths by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md. and the majority leader; Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. and the minority leader; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and the minority leader; and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
5. Vocal artist Wintley Phipps will sing the Christian hymns “Amazing Grace” and “It Is Well.”
6. Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C. and the majority whip, will give the benediction.
7. Public viewing outside: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday

Instead of remaining under the Capitol dome while members of the public pay respects, as is traditional, Lewis’ coffin will be moved outside to the Capitol steps to allow for a more pandemic-friendly viewing. Members of the public will be able to line up in a socially distanced way to see him lying in state from the plaza below.

Even with the health precautions, Lewis’ family discouraged people from traveling from out of town to the Capitol amid the pandemic, instead asking for “virtual tributes” using the hashtags #BelovedCommunity or #HumanDignity.

Public viewing will continue on Tuesday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The public viewing of Lewis’ coffin will continue all day Tuesday.

Lewis, a 17-term congressman from Georgia and the senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died July 17 after battling pancreatic cancer.

He was known as the “conscience of the Congress” for his moral authority acquired through years of protest for racial equality — including when he was brutally beaten during voting rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 and across the Jim Crow South. On Sunday, he made his final journey across the Edmund Pettus Bridge there, his coffin carried by a horse-drawn caisson past the very spot where a state trooper wielding a club fractured his skull 55 years ago.

Last year, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol, though he was honored in Statuary Hall, not in the Rotunda, where presidents and other statesmen have lain. The site is reserved for the nation’s most revered figures, most recently including President George Bush and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Rosa Parks, the civil rights pioneer, lay in honor there in 2005, receiving the highest honor afforded to a private citizen.