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Statue of Congressman John Lewis to be unveiled in Decatur

A 30-foot obelisk Confederate monument was taken down in the downtown Decatur square on June 18, 2020. The monument was erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Now, a statue of John Lewis stands at the site. Photos by Amanda Coyne / AJC
A 30-foot obelisk Confederate monument was taken down in the downtown Decatur square on June 18, 2020. The monument was erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Now, a statue of John Lewis stands at the site. Photos by Amanda Coyne / AJC
By
Aug 23, 2024

A new memorial honoring the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis will be unveiled Saturday morning in Decatur.

The statue of the civil rights leader, who died in 2020, replaces a Confederate monument which stood outside the Historic DeKalb Courthouse for more than a century,

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson are slated to speak at the 11 a.m. ceremony, along with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, civil rights activist Xernona Clayton and former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young.

The statue, designed by sculptor Basil Watson, will be unveiled four years after DeKalb Commissioner Davis Johnson and Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett established the John Lewis Commemorative Task Force in August 2020. The task force raised over $700,000 for the project and donated the artwork to DeKalb County government, a news release says.

The statue was installed on Friday, Aug. 16. The 30-foot Confederate monument which once stood at the site was erected in 1908 and was removed in 2020 following public pressure.

ExploreJohn Lewis left footprints across metro Atlanta

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I'm an investigative reporter intern with the AJC and a graduate of Mercer University.

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