The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation are hosting a special bus unveiling and voter registration drive honoring late Civil Rights icon and MARTA advocate Congressman John Lewis and his wife Lillian Miles Lewis on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m., at College Park Station.
“As part of our yearlong celebration of Black history, we want to recognize the profound contributions of Congressman Lewis who championed public transit and MARTA, and fought for voters’ rights his entire life,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood. “MARTA history is Black history.”
Congressman Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders who fought to desegregate the interstate bus system, and who was a tireless advocate for MARTA. As long-time community leaders and activists in Atlanta, he and his wife, Lillian Miles, understood the important role public transportation plays in providing opportunity for all. On MARTA’s 30th anniversary, Congressman Lewis said, “MARTA is a shining example of what can be done. We wouldn’t be the capital of the American South if we hadn’t had MARTA.”
“We are excited to partner with MARTA on this special ‘John Lewis Bus’ and on the voter registration drive,” said Detria Everson, president and CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. “Congressman Lewis was inspired by the work of Rosa Parks and others to integrate transit systems across the country. He would be proud to know that a MARTA bus with his pictures and quotes was serving constituents he represented in Congress.”
Throughout his life, Congressman Lewis was a tireless advocate for voting rights. In 1965, he helped organize voter registration efforts in Selma and was one of the Civil Rights leaders in attendance when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Congressman Lewis’s work advancing voting rights continued throughout his political career until his death in 2020.
A voter registration drive, conducted as part of National Voter Registration Month, will be held after the bus unveiling and short program.
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