The Daily Populous Sunday August 18th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by AudibleNod

A large bronze statue of the late civil rights icon leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis was installed Friday, at the very spot where a contentious monument to the confederacy stood for more than 110 years in the town square before it was dismantled in 2020.

Work crews gently rested the 12-foot-tall (3.7-meter-tall) statue into place as the internationally acclaimed sculptor, Basil Watson, looked on carefully.

"It's exciting to see it going up and exciting for the city because of what he represents and what it's replacing," Watson said, as he assisted with the installation process.

A large bronze statue of the late civil rights leader and politician Congressman John Lewis is installed where a monument to the Confederacy was brought down in 2020, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Decatur, Ga. Ron Harris / AP

Lewis was known for his role at the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement and urged others to get in "good trouble" for a cause he saw as vital and necessary. In DeKalb County where the Confederate monument stood for more than a century, protesters have invoked "good trouble" in calling for the swift removal of the obelisk.

Back in 2020, the stone obelisk was lifted from its base with straps amid jeers and chants of "Just drop it!" from onlookers in Decatur, Georgia, who were kept at a safe distance by sheriff's deputies. The obelisk was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908.

Groups like the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights and Hate Free Decatur had been pushing for the monument to be removed since the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The monument was among those around the country that became flashpoints for protests over police brutality and racial injustice, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. The city of Decatur then asked a Georgia judge to order the removal of the monument, which was often vandalized and marked by graffiti, saying it had become a threat to public safety.

The statue of Lewis will be officially unveiled on Aug. 24.

DeadlyRenji on August 18th, 2024 at 03:28 UTC »

There shouldn’t be any confederate monuments, literal traitors.

talkingprawn on August 18th, 2024 at 00:32 UTC »

If we’re going to be in the tricky business of putting up statues of people, yeah, we should put up the people who were voices for the oppressed not the people who fought wars to keep them oppressed. Let’s keep replacing all those monuments to racism.

Gbird_22 on August 18th, 2024 at 00:18 UTC »

Wow honoring an American who didn’t betray his oath to the country, what a novel idea. John Lewis was one of the greatest American leaders of our time, may he rest in peace.