Obama To Speak At Cummings’ Funeral In Baltimore On Friday

Former president Barack Obama will speak Friday at the funeral of his friend, Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died last week at 68.

The funeral will be held in New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore where the late congressman worshiped for decades.

“At the request of Mrs. (Maya) Rockeymoore-Cummings, he will deliver remarks about the remarkable life and legacy of one of this country’s finest public servants,” Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill said in a statement late Wednesday.

Cummings was an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and the congressman had a photo of the pair hanging in his office on Capitol Hill.

“Before there was Barack Obama, there was Elijah Cummings,” Brandon Scott, president of the Baltimore city council, told the Baltimore Sun.

In a lengthy statement after his death on Oct. 17, Obama praised Cummings for his work as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“Steely yet compassionate, principled yet open to new perspectives, Chairman Cummings remained steadfast in his pursuit of truth, justice, and reconciliation,” he said. “It’s a tribute to his native Baltimore that one of its own brought such character, tact, and resolve into the halls of power every day. And true to the giants of progress he followed into public service, Chairman Cummings stood tallest and most resolute when our country needed him the most.”

Cummings’ body will lie in state Thursday in the Capitol, where lawmakers will hold a memorial before members of the public pay their respects.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post · Jenna Portnoy  

{Matzav.com}