Political Rewind with Bill Nigut | July 20, 2020.

John Lewis' speaks to a group of children.
Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News

 

Monday on Political Rewind, we remember an icon of the civil rights movement and Georgia politics. Congressman John Lewis passed away at the age of 80 on Friday night.

What was Lewis' legacy?

Our panel of political insiders discuss the impression Lewis left on Georgia and the country.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jim Galloway said the congressman had a habit of making speeches that were substantive and backed-up with action. 

"It was what he said, and what he represented, that far overshadowed how he delivered it," Galloway said.

Lewis served 17 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th District

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said Lewis was part of a generation of activists who inspired leadership for those who followed in their footsteps.

"They all had strengths, and obviously because they are all human beings, they all had flaws," Thurmond said. "But collectively, they really changed the world, not just America and Georgia."

 

Panelists:

Shirley Franklin — Former-Mayor of Atlanta

Jim Galloway — Political Writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Michael Thurmond — DeKalb County CEO

John Pruitt — Former Anchor, WSB-TV

 

 

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