TROY, Ala. (AP) — There’s now a historic marker at the one-story brick house in Alabama where the late civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis grew up as one of 11 children.
The marker for Lewis’ birthplace was unveiled Saturday in Troy, WSFA-TV reported.
Lewis’ family said at the ceremony that they believe it’s their duty to carry his legacy and continue making what they call “good trouble.”
“When we see something that is not right, not fair, not just — we have a moral obligation to speak up and speak out,” said nephew Jerrick Lewis.
The family created the John R. Lewis Legacy Institute to support civil rights education and engage in social justice, education equality, and health awareness.
Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said the house, now a historic landmark, will become part of the story of the civil rights movement in Alabama, starting with his birthplace and ending in Montgomery.
“The fact that that he is the ‘Boy from Troy’ and is known all over the world for all that he accomplished, this a great sense of pride for us,” Reeves said.
Lewis, born on Feb. 21, 1940, grew up on his family’s farm and attended segregated public schools.
In 1965, on a day that became known as “Bloody Sunday,” he led marchers onto the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where state troopers ordered them to disperse, then attacked them.
Lewis was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1981 and to Congress in 1986.
His younger sister, Ethel Lewis-Tyner, told WSFA she never thought “in a million years” their home would be a part of history.
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Follow AP coverage of human rights and civil liberties at https://apnews.com/hub/human-rights-and-civil-liberties.
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