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An ordinance to amend the Geographic Information Systems Street and Alley Centerline Layer for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by changing the name of 5th Avenue N., and Opry Place to "Rep. John Lewis Way N." and by changing the name of 5th Avenue S. to "Rep. John Lewis Way S." (Proposal No. 2020M-004SR-001).
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WHEREAS, Congressman John Lewis began his lifelong crusade for civil rights and civic justice in Nashville while a student at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and later at Fisk University. He was a leader in the historic lunch counter sit-ins that lead to Nashville becoming the first Southern city to start the desegregation of public places; and
WHEREAS, while a student, Lewis was invited to attend nonviolence workshops held at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church by the Rev. James Lawson and Rev. Kelly Miller Smith. There, Lewis and other students became dedicated adherents to the discipline and philosophy of nonviolence, which he practiced for the rest of his life; and
WHEREAS, in 1961, Lewis represented the Nashville group of the burgeoning civil rights movement, as one of the 13 original "Freedom Riders." He was also instrumental in organizing bus boycotts and other nonviolent protests to support voting rights and racial equality; and
WHEREAS, Lewis was one of the "Big Six" leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington, and in 1965, Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In an incident which became known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers and police then attacked the marchers, including Lewis; and
WHEREAS, Lewis would later embark on a career in public service, first as an Atlanta City Council member, then as a Congressman representing Georgia's Fifth District from 1987 until his death in 2020; and
WHEREAS, the request for the street name change has been submitted by Councilmember Zulfat Suara on behalf of the Metropolitan Council Mi...
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