Pete Souza/White House

President Barack Obama hugs Rep. John Lewis after his introduction during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches on March 7, 2015.

Civil rights leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis died from pancreatic cancer Friday at the age of 80. 

Arizona NAACP leader Roy Tatem says Arizonans should reflect on the sacrifice and work Lewis did to make voting rights a reality for many Black Americans — especially in a turbulent election year.

“At what we know as Bloody Sunday, [Lewis] almost died, pretty much that’s when Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act," Tatem said. "Our vote is our voice, so if we want to honor John Lewis, we’ve got to protect voting rights for everyone.”

Matthew Casey/KJZZ

Roy Tatem in KJZZ's studio in January 2020.

Lewis was there in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, marching for voting rights. He sustained a fractured skull when police hit him with a baton. 

Eventually, his work led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which secured the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the U.S.

Executive director of the Black Mothers Forum of Phoenix Debra Colbert told the story of her grandparents' experience being denied the vote.

"They told me the stories of having to walk 11, 12, 13 miles, and then having to take ridiculous [literacy] tests," she said.

The Voting Rights Act that Lewis fought for ended that.

"What it meant was something so valuable, your vote, that people would be willing to steal from you..you have to nurture it, you have to use it,” she said.

Flags in Arizona were ordered to fly at half mast Sunday to honor Lewis.