Civil, workers rights communities give Rev. Orange final tribute

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/255229.html

By ERRIN HAINES - Associated Press Writer --

ATLANTA --
The guard of the civil rights movement came together on Saturday to honor the Rev. James Orange, who took the lessons he learned from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the fight for workers' rights and global equality.

Orange died suddenly in Atlanta on Feb. 16 after suffering complications from gall bladder surgery. He was 65.

Hundreds of people attended the homegoing ceremony at Morehouse College's King Chapel, which lasted more than three hours and was filled with song, history, and politics.

Orange was mostly remembered as a gentle giant who first struck an imposing figure as a young man organizing for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. U.S. Rep. John Lewis - who fought alongside Orange to desegregate their native Alabama in the 1960s - recalled that his friend was not one discouraged by fear.

"James Orange was never missing in action," Lewis said.

Looking down at Orange's casket during his remarks, Lewis asked Orange to say hello to their comrades in the movement whom he now joins in death, including Martin and Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Whitney Young and Hosea Williams.

"Tell them we're still working," Lewis said. "We will march with you again."

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