Atlanta man marches hundreds of miles against poverty

An Atlanta man who has walked more than 650 miles to bring awareness to the poverty of our country returns home Sunday.

After walking more than 650 miles, an Atlanta man marching against poverty returned home to Atlanta Sunday.

Terence Lester, a self-described minister, community activist, speaker and author who co-founded Love Beyond Walls, left his hometown of Atlanta Aug. 20 and headed to the District of Columbia.

Terence Lester walked from Atlanta to the District of Columbia to raise awareness and march against poverty. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

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He made a point to chose the same starting point as Martin Luther King Jr. did when he historically marched on Washington.

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Lester made it to the District on Saturday after documenting his journey through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. He reached more than 5 million people on social media.

The March Against Poverty is the largest-scale mission to date for Love Beyond Walls, which describes its mission as to raise awareness of societal needs through technology and storytelling and mobilize people to take part in it.

The nonprofit serves 400 to 500 people each month through various programs, such as a free laundry room for homeless people and “dignity art,” which attempts to give homeless men and women more dignity through turning wood into art.

Lester is the teaching pastor at several Atlanta-area churches and he is the 2016 recipient of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference’s Social Activist award.

You can see more of Lester's journey on his Facebook and Instagram pages.