According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a statue of the late John Lewis was unveiled last Wednesday in the new 16-acre Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Atlanta’s Vine City.
The civil rights activist and congresswoman passed away last year. The statue is said to help pay homage to the legend who died at the age of 80 after a cancer battle. The civil rights activist was “the son of tenants who survived brutal police beatings during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama,” according to the CNN report. Lewis engaged in dangerous work advocating change and fighting segregation.
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59 years ago today, I was released from Parchman Farm Penitentiary after I was arrested in Jackson, MS for using a so-called “white” toilet during the 1961 Freedom Rides. pic.twitter.com/OUfgeaNDOm
– John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) July 7, 2020
“My grandfather Eddie made sure our family was really close,” said Adolph Lewis in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. “So when I look at this statue, all I see is pride. It just warms my heart to know that I am part of this family. “
Adolph Lewis Jr. is the son of Adolph Lewis. He is “the legendary brother who, as a child, did all of the future congressman’s duties so Lewis could read,” the report said.
Dignitaries attended a “ceremonial cutting of the ribbon to mark the opening of the park and the christening of the statue,” the article reads.
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ICYMI: Yesterday, Mayor @KeishaBottoms, @AmbAndrewYoung and the Cook family celebrated the installation of a new statue of Congressman John Lewis in Rodney Cook Park on Atlanta’s historic west side. pic.twitter.com/HQ4csfMmZu
– City of Atlanta, GA (@CityofAtlanta) April 22, 2021
Lewis’ statue will be in good company. According to The Detroit Praise Network, “18 bronze statues, plaques, and memorials dedicated to peacemakers, including [C.T.] Vivian, Andrew Young, Julian Bond and Martin Luther King Jr. ”will be added to the park.
Lewis was one of the youngest leaders at the height of the civil rights movement. Lewis and other students formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960. Seating at local diners and conducting voter registrations and demonstrations across the south were among the accomplishments noted by the National Park Service.
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Our friend, mentor, and former Congressman John Lewis.
Today we honored the memory of Congressman Lewis at the unveiling of his statue in #VineCity.
Now is the time for Congress to honor its legacy by giving # HR1 and # HR4 to #RestoreTheVote #ForThePeople.
Naomi King, Rodney Cook, Jr. pic.twitter.com/lLeKGpYaoR
– Congressman Nikema Williams (@RepNikema) July 7, 2021
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