AJC Op-ed on President Barack Obama and Rep. John Lewis

Timed with the opening of The Obama Presidential Center, Michael Collins, our Board Chair and Interim President published an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the special relationship between President Barack Obama and Rep. John Lewis. In the op-ed, he highlighted key moments int heir shared history:

• In 2005, Senator Obama delivered the keynote address at Rep. Lewis' 65th birthday;

• In 2008, Rep. Lewis endorsed State Senator Obama during the 2008 Presidential Primary;

• In 2007, Rep. Lewis invited President Obama to speak at Brown Chapel AME Church and participate in the annual Bloody Sunday commemoration;

• In 2010, President Obama gave Rep. Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom;

• In 2015, President Obama walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge as part of the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday; and

• In 2020, President Obama gave the eulogy and Rep. Lewis' funeral.

Click here to read the op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "A bond forged in history: John Lewis, Barack Obama and the promise of America." Click on the image below for a .pdf of the op-ed.