Statue of John Lewis unveiled in Georgia to honor late civil rights leader

Lewis was a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which led civil rights protests across the south. Photograph: Ron Harris/AP

A 12ft-tall statue of John Lewis was unveiled in Georgia on Saturday morning, honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader and congressman who died in 2020.

The statue stands in Decatur Square outside the historic Decatur courthouse in outer Atlanta, in a district Lewis represented in Congress from 1987 to his death. Lewis was 80 when he died due to complications related to pancreatic cancer.