The funeral for the late Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings is scheduled to take place in his hometown of Baltimore on Friday. And if you’re not one of the high-profile folks exclusively invited to attend Cumming’s homegoing services, there is still a way for people to pay their respects to the legendary legislator.
READ MORE: Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings Dies At 68
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were among those scheduled to speak during the funeral at the New Psalmist Baptist Church, where Cummings worshiped for nearly four decades. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were also expected to deliver eulogies along with Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Jr., who has been the New Psalmist Baptist Church’s pastor since 1975. The church can accommodate about 4,000 people.
Cumming’s funeral comes just more than a week after his unexpected death from what his Congressional office described as “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.” It also came as he was heating up his leadership rallying Democrats to move forward with an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. It was unclear if Trump would attend the funeral for Cummings, with whom the president was involved in an ongoing feud that took a racist turn for the worst in July.
Prior to the funeral, the church was scheduled to hold a public viewing, Cummings’ third public viewing this week. Morgan State University, a historically Black college in Baltimore, hosted a public viewing of Cummings on Wednesday. Cummings had a long history with the HBCU, which is located in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, where he served since 1996. He had been on the University’s Board of Regents for 19 years and, in 2006, Morgan State University gave him an honorary Doctorate of Laws.
On Thursday, Cummings became the first African American elected official to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, a privilege that made him just the third Black person ever to enjoy the distinction. Before Cummings, the only other two Black people to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda were civil rights champion Rosa Parks in 2005 and Capitol Police Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut, who was killed in the line of duty, in 1998.
Cummings’ funeral was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT. To watch his funeral live, you can watch it being streamed online by C-SPAN by clicking here or watching the video below.
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