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- Rep. John Lewis statue replaces Confederate memorial in Georgia (newsbreak.com)
On August 24, a 12-foot bronze statue of the esteemed civil rights leader and former U.S. Representative John Lewis was revealed in Decatur, Georgia.
The statue, crafted by Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson, features Lewis with his hands placed over his heart, standing on a stone pedestal. This significant monument was positioned in Decatur Square on August 16 and unveiled the following Saturday.
John Lewis, who passed away in 2020, served as the representative for Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District, encompassing much of Atlanta, from 1987. He was a pivotal figure in the civil rights movement, known for his role as one of the original “freedom riders” who challenged racial segregation by riding on segregated buses in the South during the 1960s.
Lewis also led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was one of the “big six” civil rights leaders who helped organize the landmark March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. His dedication to justice was recognized nationally when President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
The new statue replaces a contentious 30-foot stone obelisk erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy outside the DeKalb County Courthouse. The obelisk, which honored Confederate soldiers, became a focal point of protest following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, amidst widespread civil unrest calling for racial equality and justice.
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- Rep. John Lewis statue replaces Confederate memorial in Georgia (newsbreak.com)