A hero for the 21st century Feb 8, 2021

A hero for the 21st century

Towering above Atlanta"s Sweet Auburn district is this 65-foot-high mural of John Lewis, the civil rights icon. What better way to celebrate Black History Month than to honor Lewis, a son of sharecroppers who carried the struggles of the civil rights movement from the Jim Crow South to the halls of Congress? An Alabama native, Lewis moved to Atlanta in 1963. He was already famous and would become even more so for leading marches, protests, and sit-ins throughout the South. Beaten by police, the KKK, and angry mobs, Lewis never wavered from his belief in nonviolent protest. He famously fought with his voice and peaceful actions, never his fists.

© Ilene Perlman/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Feb 8, 2018The Cordillera de la Sal in the Cordillera Domeyko Range of Chile
Feb 8, 2019A winter light show
Feb 8, 2020Lanterns alight in Pingxi
Feb 8, 2022Extraterrestrial Culture Day
Feb 8, 2023Uredd Rest Area, Norway
Feb 8, 2024Mount Hood, Oregon
Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
Feb 8, 2026Corfu at night, Greece

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 22, 2025International Day for Biological Diversity
Jan 6, 2022Kochelsee in Bavaria
Nov 26, 2025World Olive Tree Day
Jan 18, 2024Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
Jun 4, 2021Islands that turned the tide
Jan 8, 2023Breckenridge, Colorado
Apr 12, 2024Arches National Park, Utah
Feb 14, 2023Valentines Day
Sep 9, 2025A Eurasian red squirrel in Switzerland
May 1, 2019Purple flowers and Golden Week
Dec 5, 2024Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California
Apr 1, 2018Happy Easter from the ‘peeps’ at Bing
Aug 28, 2019Florentine garden brings generations together
Oct 12, 2019It s aboat time for the Barcolana
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France
Apr 13, 2025Songkran—Thai New Year
Dec 28, 2021Kjell Henriksen Observatory
Feb 1, 2024Black History Month
May 7, 2021Deep in the North Woods wetlands
Feb 15, 2026World Whale Day
Nov 4, 2025Tower Bridge, London, England
Sep 14, 2023Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
Mar 16, 2023Panda Day
Sep 18, 2020Homeward bound
Jan 15, 2019A personal collection becomes an institution
May 29, 2020It s Bermuda s big day
Mar 22, 2026World Water Day
Jun 27, 2019The roots of invention
Dec 22, 2019You ve never seen anything like this
May 31, 2025Knuthöjdsmossen, a nature reserve in Sweden