John Robert Lewis Hall - Troy, AL
Posted by: 
hoteltwo
N 31° 48.020 W 085° 57.414
16R E 598741 N 3518778
The building is a centerpiece structure of the Troy campus, which was previously named the Bibb Graves Hall. The University voted to rename the hall to honor John Lewis who grew up in the area.
Waymark Code: WM13XGE
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2021
Views: 3
Marker text:
Built in 1929 and originally named for Gov. Bibb Graves, this building was renamed in 2020 in memory of U.S. Rep. Lewis, a central figure in the U.S. civil rights movement. Nicknamed "the boy from Troy" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he was the youngest speaker in the famed 1963 March on Washington and was a key figure in the Selma- to-Montgomery March that sped the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In 1986, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 5th District until his death in 2020. Rep. Lewis held the Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Troy University.
Marker Name: John Robert Lewis Hall
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
Erected by Troy University.
Previously the building was named the Bibb Graves Hall. John Lewis once applied for admission to Troy University and was refused, but he became a friend to the university in later years. Bibb Graves, a former Alabama governor, was a leader in the Ku Klux Klan.
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2020
Marker Number: N/A
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Visit Instructions:
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