A Georgia lawmaker has introduced legislation that would establish February 21 as “John Lewis Day” in the state.
Georgia State Representative Shelly Hutchinson has filed the legislation designating February 21 as “John Lewis Day” in Georgia. She also refiled House Bill 1212, which would ban Confederate monuments from public land.
Hutchinson released this statement regarding the legislation:
“Congressman John Lewis is a hero who left this country and this world a better place. He inspired a generation of leaders – including myself – to ask ‘if not now, then when?’ His legacy of ‘good trouble’ lives on within all of us who continue to seek equality and justice. Without a doubt, he will be remembered as one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. Every child should be taught his story. Every person should know his name. John Lewis deserves a day of remembrance. A day where we all reflect on his life, his accomplishments, and how we can live up to his example. It is my hope that this bill can get bipartisan support from my colleagues across the aisle and quickly pass. His life and his legacy deserve it.”
Lewis passed away in July of 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He served in Congress since his election in 1986 and was the Senior Chief Deputy Whip for the Democratic Party in the House at the time of his death. He served in a variety of roles in the current Congress as a member of the House Ways & Means Committee and a member of its Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, and ranking member of its Subcommittee on Oversight.
Lewis was awarded more than 50 honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout the United States including: Harvard, Brown, Penn, Princeton, Duke, Morehouse, Clark-Atlanta, Howard, Brandeis University, Columbia University, Fisk University, and Troy State University. He also was the recipient of the Medal of Freedom, Lincoln Medal, Capital Award of the National Council of Law Raza, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, President’s Medal of Georgetown University, NAACP Spingarn Medal, the NEA Martin Luther King Memorial Award, and the only JFK “Profile in Courage Award” for lifetime achievement ever granted by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
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