Harris Lowry Manton LLP Honors Legacy of U.S. Congressman and Civil Rights Leader John Lewis

The team at Harris Lowry Manton, LLP recently unveiled a commissioned portrait of the late U.S. Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis at the firm’s Atlanta office in Brookhaven. This portrait hangs in a place of honor as a reminder of Congressman Lewis’s unyielding pursuit of equality and passionate commitment to justice.

Harris Lowry Manton LLP founding partner Jeff Harris said, “There is no greater role model for initiating positive change and leveraging the power of the U.S. Constitution, the legal process and American democracy than Congressman John Lewis. His impact on the Civil Rights Movement and groundbreaking legislative work continues to guide the pursuit of justice for our clients and our community.”

Together with founding partners Steve Lowry and Jed Manton, Harris unveiled the portrait in a ceremony on April 2 and presented a $5,000 donation to the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is “to promote nonviolence, voting rights, civic engagement, social justice, democracy, international peace, human rights and civil liberties and to preserve and study African American history and culture and the history of the civil rights movement in the United States.”

Mignon Morman Willis, treasurer of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation, and her husband Bill accepted the donation on behalf of the non-profit organization. “We are deeply grateful to the attorneys and staff at Harris Lowry Manton for their generous donation and support of our mission to promote nonviolence, voting rights, civic engagement, social justice, democracy, human rights and civil liberties,” said Willis.

The portrait is the work of Atlanta-based artist Patrick Lewis, who used acrylic and mixed media to depict Congressman Lewis with the iconic Atlanta skyline behind him. The artwork measures six-by-eight feet and features a well-known quote by the Civil Rights leader in the corner: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

“This one-of-a-kind portrait of Congressman Lewis occupies a place of honor and distinction at our firm’s Brookhaven office,” said Harris Lowry Manton LLP founding partner Jed Manton. “I believe this painting will offer daily inspiration to our attorneys and staff, encouraging them to honor his legacy through their work advocating on behalf of our clients.”

About John Lewis

John Lewis was an Alabama native known for his nonviolent approach to initiating change and social justice. During the Civil Rights Movement, he was arrested 40 times. His other activism includes his time as a Freedom Rider, speaking at the March on Washington, and leading the peaceful protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 Selma, Alabama.

He began his tenure as a U.S. Congressman in 1986, where he would serve for 33 years. His contributions to the nation included establishing the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park in Atlanta, leading the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act and helping found the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.. President Barack Obama presented Congressman Lewis with the Medal of Freedom in 2011, calling him the “conscience of the United States Congress.” Lewis died on July 17, 2020 at the age of 80.

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