Civil rights legend Lewis visits Las Vegas

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:33 a.m.

The eyes of 200 youngsters were fixed attentively Monday afternoon as a "living legend" of the civil rights movement locked their gaze at Booker Elementary School.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., also garnered similar rapt looks during a two-day whirlwind tour of colleague Shelley Berkley's district.

And although the visit was touted as a chance for Lewis to better understand Nevada, Berkley clearly enjoyed having a civil rights legend stumping through West Las Vegas on her behalf.

"It's extremely important on so many different levels," said Berkley, D-Nev., walking down a corridor at Booker on the way to greet third, fourth and fifth graders. "There was a reverence throughout his visit that you don't encounter often.

"When people meet him, they are truly awed and inspired," she added.

Berkley quietly hopes that inspiration helps black voters cast ballots for her next November against Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald.

"The Congressional Black Caucus has recognized the fact that I have a 100 percent voting record with the NAACP," Berkley said. "Member after member has agreed to come to help Democrats keep this seat."

With a narrow six-seat Republican margin in the House, Nevada's 1st Congressional District is drawing nationwide attention.

But Boggs McDonald isn't concerned someone with Lewis' credentials is campaigning for Berkley.

"Black voters are a lot more sophisticated than that," she said. "It doesn't matter what people from outside Nevada think."

Boggs McDonald instead touted the support her campaign is receiving from black Democrats such as state Sen. Joe Neal, state Assemblyman Wendell Williams and former Las Vegas City Councilman Frank Hawkins.

"In the words of Janet Jackson, voters want to know, 'What have you done for me lately?' " Boggs McDonald said. "Why do all of these men stand with Lynette Boggs McDonald."

Lewis walked among the elementary school students at Booker on Monday after visiting three black churches on Sunday, and meeting laid-off workers at the Culinary Training Center and Rancho High School students on Monday morning.

He told Booker students he was invited to come to Las Vegas by Berkley, "My friend, my colleague, my sister."

After moving the youngsters with talk of his poor Alabama upbringing, his work with Martin Luther King Jr. and 40 arrests, Lewis reminded the black student body about the sacrifices many made to give them the right to vote.

"You tell your mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers to vote," he encouraged.

Piper Overstreet, a Berkley staffer whose mother teaches at Booker in West Las Vegas, said Lewis' visit was crucial for the students.

"These kids read this stuff in a book," she said, pointing to a mural of Martin Luther King Jr. in the school cafeteria. "And here comes someone who was a part of it."

Lewis said he was moved by the stories he heard from laid-off workers, including one mother of six who is now unemployed and looking for help feeding her children.

"I was very moved by the people I met," Lewis said.

During his visit, Berkley also introduced Lewis to representatives of the Women's Lobby, the Interfaith Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union.

After his speech to the Booker students, Berkley said she expects additional support from other blacks in Congress. If Democrats win control of the House, she said, Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., will be named chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., will get to chair the Judiciary Committee.

"This is one of their most important seats to keep," Berkley said.

Already Conyers has visited Las Vegas, and Berkley said many others will come through town before next November.

"You can't underestimate and can't insult the intelligence of voters," Boggs McDonald said. "You have to do more than parade someone through a neighborhood."

Although Boggs McDonald said she places more emphasis on local endorsements, she was thrilled Monday to announce support her campaign will get from the Black America's Political Action Committee (BAMPAC.)

And she said, she'll have some nationally-known politicians stumping for black voters for her as well. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., will be here early next year, she said.