Paul McCartney has suggested that the historic bridge that connects Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, be renamed in honor of late-congressman John Lewis.
Rep. Lewis, who was famous for his civil rights activism in the 1960s, passed away on July 17 at age 80 after battling pancreatic cancer. McCartney paid his respects over the weekend in a series of social media posts.
"Sad to hear the news that civil rights legend John Lewis died yesterday," McCartney wrote in a statement. "He was such a great leader who fought with honesty and bravery for civil rights in America. Long may his memory remain in our hearts."
The former Beatle suggested that Alabama's Edmund Pettus Bridge, a site of one of the major events of the civil rights movement, be renamed the John Lewis Bridge.
In 1965, Lewis was among many peaceful protesters led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge while demonstrating for voting rights reform. While on the bridge, the protesters were attacked by police in an incident often referred to as 'Bloody Sunday.'
Events of the day were chronicled in the 2014 film, Selma.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge was built in 1940 and named after a former senator, senior officer in the Confederate army and head of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan.
Activists have called for the bridge's name to be changed for years in a larger effort to dismantle southern monuments to the Confederacy.
A Change.org petition to rename the bridge after Lewis has surpassed 500,000 signatures.
Another organization, The John Lewis Bridge Project, is also working on behalf of the name change.
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