Casket procession set for N.J. Congressman Donald Payne
Former constituents will get a chance to walk alongside the military caisson that will carry New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne’s body Tuesday.
The remains will be transported from the Historic Essex County Courthouse for another viewing at Newark’s Metropolitan Baptist Church.
His funeral is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The 77-year-old passed away last week from colon cancer. He had been undergoing treatment in Washington, D.C., and was flown to New Jersey days before he died.
The 12-term democrat became New Jersey’s first black congressional member in 1988. He was a member of House committees on education and foreign affairs and served as chairman of the House subcommittee on Africa.
Payne is remembered as one of the first U.S. officials to speak out on the situation in Darfur and South Sudan.
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