John Lewis Sr., 87, local activist ‘helped everybody’

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By Shane Blatt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

John Lewis Sr. never served on the Atlanta City Council, but he might as well have.

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AJC file photo John H. Lewis Sr. was a longtime community activist who ran six times for Atlanta City Council. He died Sunday.

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For more than 60 years, Mr. Lewis was a perennial mainstay at City Hall, lobbying officials on behalf of residents, police officers, sanitation workers, even taxi cab drivers.

In the late 1970s, he was recognized for his dedication to Missing & Murdered Children, having spent two years searching for the bodies of kids who went missing.

In the mid-’80s, he served in the Fulton County deputy sheriff’s reserve, helping law enforcement officials handle tasks such as funeral services.

And in May 2007, he was honored by the Atlanta City Council as the original watchdog of City Hall, lauded for his years of civic activism and commitment .

“He was a community person,” said his son, John Lewis II of Atlanta. “He said a few days before he died, ‘I want to be remembered for helping people better their lives.’ He was one of those unsung heroes.”

John H. Lewis Sr., 87, of Atlanta died Sunday of heart-related complications at Unihealth rehabilitation center in Brookhaven.

A celebration of his life will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Green Pastures Christian Ministries in Decatur. Donald Trimble Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Born in 1922 in Jackson, Miss., Mr. Lewis never achieved more than a third-grade education. Nonetheless, he briefly attended what is now Jackson State College. In 1943, he was drafted into the Army and served in World War II.

Mr. Lewis moved to Atlanta in 1945. He started attending City Council meetings in 1947. During those days, he would tell his family, blacks would stand in the back of council chambers. For years, he would raise his hand to speak but would often be overlooked, family members said.

“He would yell out, ‘Sir, I have had my hand up for hours,’” said daughter Renee “Sunshine” Lewis of Decatur. “The chair would shout back, ‘The meeting is over now, boy,’ and then bang his gavel again.

“One day, he was ... given a chance to speak and never stopped talking after that.”

Over the years, he ran for City Council six times and was in a runoff in four. He even ran against U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the lawmaker of the same name but no relation.

But he wasn’t just a local activist. He was also a national activist, said state Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta), who met Mr. Lewis in the early 1960s.

“Mr. Lewis, I tell you, there’s not a man I’ve ever met in my life more dedicated to civil rights and justice for all,” said Rep. Brooks, who will speak at Mr. Lewis’ funeral.

“He always found time to follow the movement, wherever the movement was. He was a great American.”

Mr. Lewis was made an honorary lifetime member of the Georgia Association of Black Officials 20 years ago “because of his dedication and support of the election of African-Americans in Atlanta, across the state and across the nation,” Rep. Brooks said.

Daughter Collette Lewis Gunby of Atlanta said Mr. Lewis was a father at home, but a watchdog on the streets.

“He just helped everybody ... not just family, not just his people, but everybody,” she said. “He helped anybody who was in trouble and needed support in doing right for others.”

Additional survivors include three daughters, Nawanna Lewis Miller of Marietta, Veronica Lewis Long of Mableton and Aretha Rosser of Atlanta.