--- title: John Lewis: What Made Elijah Cummings a Leader Among Leaders description: When Elijah Cummings spoke, members listened,' writes Rep. John Lewis. 'They wanted to hear his words.' canonical: https://time.com/5709377/john-lewis-elijah-cummings-obituary/ author: John Lewis article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-24T12:55:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:38:05.364Z article:section: Ideas og:title: John Lewis: What Made Elijah Cummings a Leader Among Leaders og:description: Elijah Cummings died on Oct. 17 at age 68 og:url: https://time.com/5709377/john-lewis-elijah-cummings-obituary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd4d3aa672a9cd5b/698a04d1b21a9c493750290f/representative-elijah-cummings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: representative-elijah-cummings og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Lewis: What Made Elijah Cummings a Leader Among Leaders twitter:description: Elijah Cummings died on Oct. 17 at age 68 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd4d3aa672a9cd5b/698a04d1b21a9c493750290f/representative-elijah-cummings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Lewis: What Made Elijah Cummings a Leader Among Leaders > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [John Lewis](https://time.com/author/john-lewis/) ## John Lewis Oct 24, 2019 12:55 PM UTC  Cummings in the House Oversight Committee hearing room in Washington on May 2 Cummings in the House Oversight Committee hearing room in Washington on May 2 Justin T. Gellerson—The New York Times/Redux by [John Lewis](https://time.com/author/john-lewis/) ## John Lewis Oct 24, 2019 12:55 PM UTC Elijah Cummings was so human. I think that had a great deal to do with his parents, who were both ministers. I think it’s something they instilled in him: to be kind, to be good, to be wise and to respect the dignity and the worth of your fellow human being. In the years I got to know him, I never heard him say a negative word about any person. For some people, it’s in their DNA to do what’s right. We met in Congress, and I got to know him fairly well because from time to time people would confuse us. There would be individuals from his own city who would say things like, “I’m from Baltimore,” and I would say, “But I represent Atlanta.” People would sometimes call him John and they would call me Elijah, and we would laugh about it–and I took some joy in it, since he was taller and younger. When he died on Oct. 17, at age 68, I heard the news on television. I had stayed up all night working and couldn’t fall asleep after that. He will be deeply missed, not just by the people of Baltimore but also by the people of America, especially his colleagues in Congress. When Elijah Cummings spoke, members listened. They wanted to hear his words. They said, “If Elijah Cummings said such and such a thing, it must be the right thing to do.” When he said yes, he meant yes. When he said no, he meant no. He was a leader among leaders. But more than a leader–Elijah Cummings was a friend. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5709377/john-lewis-elijah-cummings-obituary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5709377/john-lewis-elijah-cummings-obituary/"},"headline":"John Lewis: What Made Elijah Cummings a Leader Among Leaders","datePublished":"2019-10-24T12:55:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:38:05.364Z","description":"When Elijah Cummings spoke, members listened,' writes Rep. John Lewis. 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