DECATUR, Ga. — A controversial confederate monument has been officially replaced after a 12-foot bronze statue of late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis was installed on Friday.
The statue is the work of sculptor Basil Watson who was present during the installation.
For more than 110 years, the spot where the John Lewis statue now stands was home to a stone obelisk erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
In 2020, the obelisk was lifted from the base with straps amid a demonstration during the series of George Floyd protests that swept the nation.
The statue will be officially unveiled during a ceremony on Aug. 24.
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