MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Flags across Alabama are at half-staff as former state Rep. Alvin Holmes is laid to rest.
Holmes, who had been the longest-serving member of the Alabama House of Representatives before his 2018 defeat, died on Nov. 21. He was 81.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered flags at half-staff Sunday to honor Holmes on the day he is buried. The order lasts until sunset.
It is a fitting honor for someone who served his state in the House for 44 years, Ivey said in her order.
“Anyone who had the privilege of working with or hearing Rep. Holmes address the Legislature knows that he was passionate about his work and cared deeply about improving our state, specifically in matters involving civil rights,” Ivey wrote.
Holmes was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1974, just four years after African Americans - who hadn’t served since Reconstruction - returned to the Legislature.
Holmes political career included battles over issues ranging from removing Jim Crow language from the state Constitution to taking the Confederate flag off of the Alabama Capitol.
The representative from Montgomery said the accomplishments he was most proud of included establishing Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday and pushing for the hiring of African Americans for professional positions at the Alabama Legislature.
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