U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff wants to honor his mentor with a new postal stamp.
The Democrat sent a letter to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee urging it to approve a stamp commemorating the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis as an “American hero, civil rights icon and revered citizen of Georgia.”
“His courage serves as an extraordinary example of civic leadership and continues to inspire young Americans to serve their communities and build a better world,” wrote Ossoff.
As a teenager, Ossoff wrote Lewis a letter after reading his memoir, “Walking With the Wind.” To his surprise, Lewis wrote back and invited Ossoff to work as a volunteer intern, starting a relationship between the two men that spanned nearly decades.
Lewis backed Ossoff’s 2017 bid for a suburban U.S. House seat and was an early supporter of his 2020 run for the U.S. Senate. Frail with pancreatic cancer, he headlined events for Ossoff and urged Democrats to rally behind the candidate before his July 2020 death at the age of 80.
Shortly after taking office, Ossoff introduced a bicameral resolution honoring Lewis’ life that easily passed both chambers. Read his letter here.
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