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Nashville names street after Civil Rights icon John Lewis

FILE - With the Capitol Dome in the background, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is seen on Capitol Hill on Oct. 10, 2007, in Washington. The success of CNN's 'RBG' film two years ago, about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, led the network on a search for a similar contemporary figure whose life could be examined in historical terms. CNN's Amy Entelis says that led them to Lewis, who died of cancer in July. The film "John Lewis: Good Trouble" will debut on CNN on Sunday night. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File) (Lawrence Jackson, AP2007)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Officials in Nashville, Tennessee, have renamed most of a street after Civil Rights icon John Lewis, who help desegregate the city’s lunch counters before becoming a long-serving congressman in Georgia.

The Tennessean reports Metro Council members voted Thursday to rename a large portion of 5th Ave North to Rep. John Lewis Way. A request to rename the street included some of the highlights of Lewis' work and its impact.

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As a college student at American Baptist College and then Fisk University, Lewis helped desegregate public spaces in Nashville and pushed for racial justice across the South. Lewis died July 17.


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