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The US Navy on Saturday christened a ship named in honor of the late Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis at a ceremony in San Diego that marked the first anniversary of his death.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Led a congressional delegation to the event to honor the late congressman’s accomplishments and mark the celebration of the warship that will sail in his honor.
“This ship will be a beacon to the world, reminding all who see it of the perseverance and courage of John Lewis,” Pelosi said.
Actress Alfre Woodard, godmother of the ship, had the honor of smashing a bottle of champagne on the bow as part of the traditional christening ceremony. “God bless this ship and all who sail on it,” Woodard said before breaking the bottle.
The USNS John Lewis is the first ship of its class and will be operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command.
JOHN LEWIS, CIVIL RIGHTS ICNE, CONGRESS MEMBER FOR 33 YEARS, DEAD AT 80
The tanker will transfer fuel to ships of the Navy Carrier Strike Group operating at sea. The other John Lewis-class tankers will be named after other prominent civil rights activists and leaders, including Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected of California suffragist Lucy Stone and abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
Lewis, D-Ga., Died on July 17, 2020, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old. Former chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and one of the keynote speakers in the historic March on Washington before the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis has spent his life defending the rights of minorities. Lewis served in Congress for 33 years.
Lewis’s nephew Marcus Tyner spoke at the ceremony, reminding the crowd that his uncle’s legacy must continue beyond the ship, passing the voting rights reforms Lewis had championed.
REPRESENTATIVE. CRENSHAW SAID MILITARY LEADERS “PRIORITY TO REAL WAR CLOCK TRAINING” AFTER NAVY REPORT
“We all agree that what is most important at this critical time and which would please my uncle the most is the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill,” he said. Tyner declared to the crowd.
In June 2016, the Navy awarded a $ 3.2 billion contract to General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego to design and build the next generation of fleet tankers, the John Lewis-class (T-AO 205) formerly known as TAO (X). The contract provides for the design and construction of six tankers 742 feet long with a full load displacement of 49,850 tons, according to General Dynamics.
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Tankers have the capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil up to a speed of 20 knots.
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