It's been a year since the world lost the Civil Rights icon who urged the faithful to "get into good trouble".
The well-known U.S. Congressman from Atlanta, John Lewis, died on July 17, 2020, after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
In what they hope will become an annual event, the downtown Atlanta business community, civil rights leaders, and grassroots organizers, will host a day Friday in celebration of Lewis.
A.J. Robinson is president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the hosts of Reimagine the Legacy. According to Robinson "We just felt like having known John Lewis for a long time, as a councilman, as a Congressman, and as a Civil Rights leader, that the community needed to do something." Lewis' was a life that was so meaningful says Robinson, adding, "We wanted to pull the community together to talk about John and what he meant to all of us."
Reimagine the Legacy Events:
10:00 a.m. Reimagine the Legacy will begin with a special tribute and mural rededication at the John Lewis Memorial mural, located at 219 Auburn Avenue (at the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.
11:00 a.m. Church bells will ring throughout Downtown for 80 seconds initiating a community-wide moment of reflection, marking the day and time Congressman Lewis was laid to rest.
12:00 p.m. Learning and Celebration. Woodruff Park will host a celebration and opportunity for the community to gather and celebrate Lewis’ legacy and the vibrancy to be found and savored throughout the Fifth Congressional District. There will be special performances by NBC’s The Voice, 2020 runner up, Toneisha Harris and triple platinum country artist, Blanco Brown.
2:00 p.m. Panel discussion at the Auburn Avenue Research Library there will be a special panel discussion featuring Shirley Franklin, former Atlanta, Mayor; Sherry Frank, President of the Atlanta chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women.
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is providing free admission for the day, 12pm-5pm.