A statue of the , known for stirring up “good trouble” in his quest for racial justice, was installed in his honor on Friday. The statue replaced a contentious confederate monument that stood in front of a Georgia County Courthouse since 1908 before its removal in 2020, . The stately 12-foot-tall statue of Rep.
Lewis was commissioned by internationally acclaimed sculptor Basil Barrington Watson, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica and has lived in Georgia since 2002, according to the As the statue was placed in front of the Dekalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Georgia Watson looked on, sharing with CBS News that it was “exciting to see it going up and exciting for the city because of what he represents and what it’s replacing.” Rep. Lewis was deeply committed to civil rights long before he became the congressman who served his Georgia district for 17 terms.
He was co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which grew out of student-led sit-ins that challenged Jim Crow segregation. Lewis was also one of the 13 original , who rode across the South to protest segregation in public transportation—and was met with unbridled violence by angry mobs. At a Greyhound bus station in Montgomery, Lewis was hit in the head with a wooden crate.
in a CNN interview, Lewis said, “It was very violent. I thought I was going to die. I was left lying at the Greyhound bus station in Montgomery unconscious.
” Lewis was also the youngest person to help organize t.