New statue in Montgomery honors memory of Congressman John Lewis
A new statue has been unveiled at the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Plaza in downtown Montgomery in memory of civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis.
The statue is called “Steadfast Stride Toward Justice.”
It is the first life-sized statue of Lewis to be displayed in Alabama.
Lewis, who was a Congressman from Georgia, was born in Pike County in 1940 and was known as “The boy from Troy” in his younger years. He was just 25 years old when he helped lead 600 people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965, on a voting rights march.
That day became known as “Bloody Sunday” when the marchers, including Lewis, were badly beaten by law enforcement officers. Lewis was a lifetime champion in the fight for civil rights and was elected to Congress in Georgia in 1986. Lewis was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2020.
The statue of Lewis joins those of fellow civil rights icons Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. in the EJI plaza.
