Proposal Would Replace Statue Of Confederate With John Lewis

A statue of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis could soon replace the likeness of Alexander Stephens, a slave owner and vice president of the Confederacy, in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, under a bipartisan resolution introduced Wednesday in the Georgia House.

The push to drop Stephens in favor of Lewis, who served as a Georgia congressman for 33 years, comes amid nationwide soul-searching over celebrations of the Confederacy; dozens of Confederate statues fell during protests for racial justice over the spring and summer.

The resolution is sponsored by state Rep. Al Williams, a Democrat from Midway, and has the backing of Republican House Speaker David Ralston.