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Civil Rights legend Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) announced on Monday that he's been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Well-wishes and news reports regarding the diagnosis went out around the world, but one in particular on CBS Evening News stood out for all the wrong reasons.
The network displayed a quote from Congressman Lewis regarding his determination to fight the disease.
The problem?
They displayed the quote from Lewis next to a photo of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
I know you all think Negroes like alike @CBSNews @NorahODonnell but this is Rep. Elijah Cummings, (May God Rest his… https://t.co/EyaIPOVEgf— Jimel Jones (@Jimel Jones) 1577750096.0
House Oversight Committee Chairman Cummings, another widely-admired titan in Congress, passed away in October of 2019.
CBS soon apologized for the error.
Tonight on the 6:30 p.m. ET broadcast of the CBS Evening News, one photograph was misidentified as Congressman John… https://t.co/dauRwl8f07— CBS Evening News (@CBS Evening News) 1577751899.0
While the two may bear some resemblance to each other, they're far from identical.
People pointed out that it takes, at most, a second glance to distinguish the two.
Different!! Certainly if you work in the editing room @CBSEveningNews you should know the difference if you are eve… https://t.co/BlkbGkNvbE— Jimel Jones (@Jimel Jones) 1577800140.0
Historically, if you don't know the difference between John Lewis and Elijah Cummings, you really shouldn't be repo… https://t.co/UiafEVkKc6— Tim Scott's Capital GUMS & lowercase teeth (@Tim Scott's Capital GUMS & lowercase teeth) 1577810455.0
@WayneDupreeShow Honestly, they look like brothers. But using the internet for photos, it's hard to understand how… https://t.co/qxZ6duD0yZ— Rebecca R.🇺🇸 (@Rebecca R.🇺🇸) 1577810704.0
Sadly, this isn't the first time the two have been confused on air.
Fox News played a clip of Lewis instead of Cummings from Face the Nation.
This was despite Lewis' congressional placard being clearly visible.
Fox News chyron misidentifies Rep. John Lewis as Rep. Elijah Cummings https://t.co/W5eHCrWcNI— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1560436997.0
When Cummings died in October, Lewis' name began trending.
I’m confused as to why John Lewis is trending when it was Elijah Cummings that died. Actually. Take that back. I know why. 😡🤬— Nubyjas Wilborn (@Nubyjas Wilborn) 1571321994.0
John Lewis is trending even though Elijah Cummings is the one who died in case you were wondering how Trump got so many votes.— The Volatile Mermaid (@The Volatile Mermaid) 1571317277.0
This is the no. 1 trending topic on my Twitter dashboard. I love Rep. Lewis. But the thought that people are eith… https://t.co/IsYMP9q00Z— Abortion is ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE. MrShiny (he/him) (@Abortion is ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE. MrShiny (he/him)) 1571318232.0
In the '60s, Lewis was a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and crucial in organizing Freedom Summer, which saw a wave of young civil rights activists travel to Jim Crow era Mississippi in an effort to register disenfranchised Black voters.
He was an organizer of the historic March on Washington.
Lewis was also present for some of the most iconic moments of the Civil Rights movement, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech (at the same march he'd organized) and the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where his skull was fractured by a police officer's nightstick.
Lewis' graphic novel March trilogy set in slipcase is available here.
"Discover the inside story of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, Congressman John Lewis."
"March is the award-winning, #1 bestselling graphic novel trilogy recounting his life in the movement, co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by Nate Powell. This commemorative set contains all three volumes of March in a beautiful slipcase."