- A giant bronze statue of the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis has been installed in Decatur, Georgia, where a Confederate monument was removed in 2020.
- The Confederate monument is a stone obelisk erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908. It has become the subject of protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
- John Lewis was known for his role on the front lines of the civil rights movement, and his statue will be officially unveiled on August 24th.
A massive bronze statue of the late civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis was installed in the town square on Friday at the exact spot where a controversial Confederate monument stood for more than 110 years before being removed in 2020.
Workers slowly maneuvered the 12-foot-tall statue into place under the watchful eye of internationally acclaimed sculptor Basil Watson.
“It’s exciting to see the monument go up and it’s exciting for the city too, what it symbolizes and what it will replace,” Watson said as she helped set the monument in place.
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Lewis was known for being at the forefront of the civil rights movement and encouraging others to make “good trouble” for causes he considered important and necessary. In DeKalb County, where a Confederate monument has stood for more than a century, protesters have cited “good trouble” to demand the obelisk’s immediate removal.
On Aug. 16, 2024, a large bronze statue of the late civil rights leader and politician Rep. John Lewis will be installed in Decatur, Georgia, at the site where a Confederate monument was toppled in 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)
In 2020, in Decatur, Georgia, a stone obelisk was lifted from its base by straps as bystanders jeered and chanted “Drop it!” while sheriff’s deputies kept a safe distance. The obelisk was erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
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Groups including the Beacon Hill Black Coalition for Human Rights and Hate Free Decatur have called for the monument’s removal since the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The memorial was one of many across the country that became a flashpoint in protests against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. The city of Decatur then asked a Georgia judge to order the removal of the frequently vandalized and graffitied monument, arguing it posed a threat to public safety.
Lewis’ statue is scheduled to be officially unveiled on August 24th.
