NORTH CAROLINA -- Gov. Roy Cooper has ordered all U.S. and N.C. flags at state facilities to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Congressman John Lewis and Reverend C.T. Vivian, both of whom passed away Friday.
The order is effective immediately and is to last through sunset on Sunday, July 19.
Rep. Lewis and Rev. Vivian, friends and icons of the civil rights movement, both resided in Atlanta, Georgia and died within hours of one another on July 17. Lewis was 80 years old, and Vivian was 95.
Congressman Lewis, an Alabama native, devoted much of his life to the civil rights movement.
At the age of 23, he was the youngest person to address the crowd at the 1963 March on Washington in which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Lewis also played a central role in organizing the 1965 voting rights march in Selma, Alabama, which erupted in the nationally televised altercation known as "Bloody Sunday." That incident would become the catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
From 1987 until his death, Lewis served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the youngest and last surviving member of the Big Six civil rights activists lead by Rev. King.
A native of Missouri, Rev. Vivian was a life-long civil rights leader, teacher, author, and minister.
Throughout his career and life, Vivian helped organize events like the Nashville Student Movement and the Selma Voting Rights Movement. He also served as a preacher, political strategist, and was a prominent advisor to Rev. King during the early part of the civil rights movement.
"As a show of respect, individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the duration of time indicated," the release Saturday stated. "Please note, all U.S. and North Carolina flag announcements are issued in accordance to regulations outlined in the US Flag Code."