Equal Justice Initiative unveils new John Lewis statue in Montgomery, Alabama

Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) recently unveiled a new statue honoring the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis at the Legacy Plaza in downtown Montgomery across from the Legacy Museum.

More than a hundred community members, including members of John Lewis’ family and local elected officials, attended the unveiling of the statue.

The statue, “Steadfast Stride Toward Justice,” is the third sculpture at Montgomery’s Legacy Plaza created by acclaimed Atlanta-based sculptor Basil Watson. The statue, including the pedestal, is measured at 8 feet. It joins the sculptures of Rosa Parks and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and becomes part of the collection at Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Sites.

Lewis was a young hero of the civil rights movement, a freedom rider who was brutally beaten in Alabama during the Freedom Rides and the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington. Lewis and leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized the Selma to Montgomery march to challenge the lack of voting rights for Black people in Alabama.

Born in Troy, Alabama, Lewis would go on to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where his steadfast calls for human rights and justice for all earned him a legendary status.

“John Lewis inspired so many of us to do the justice work we do today,” said Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the EJI. “His humility, dedication and commitment to fighting for people who are excluded and disfavored is a model and legacy urgently needed today. We are thrilled to honor his life and leadership at Legacy Plaza.”

Remarks also were given by John Lewis Institute Executive Director Jerrick Lewis and Detria Austin Everson, CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation.

There will be a fourth statue in the plaza, honoring the women of Montgomery who sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Legacy Plaza serves as a gathering place for visitors coming to the Legacy Museum. In addition to the new Parks statue, the plaza features a brick sculpture honoring civil rights marchers and a mural created by artist Kevin King.

EJI is focused on ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for vulnerable Americans. EJI was founded in 1989 by Stevenson, a nationally prominent public interest lawyer and best-selling author of “Just Mercy.” EJI recently launched new programs aimed at reducing poverty in America, including a program to address food insecurity and a clinic providing free health care to those in need. The Alabama Power Foundation has provided support to EJI.

EJI in Montgomery manages the Legacy Sites, including the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. These new national landmark institutions chronicle the legacy of slavery, lynching and racial segregation and the connection to mass incarceration and contemporary issues of racial bias.