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Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The life and legacy of John Lewis, the late civil rights icon and longtime House representative for the state of Georgia, is to be honored next year with a stamp. The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the stamp Tuesday. The postage features a profile photograph of the "conscience of the U.S. Congress" that was taken by Marco Grob for Time magazine on Aug. 26, 2013.
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"Devoted to equality and justice for all Americans, Lewis spent more than 30 years in Congress steadfastly defending and building on key civil rights gains that he had helped achieve in the 1960s," the USPS said in a statement.
"Even in the face of hatred and violence, as well as some 45 arrests, Lewis remained resolute in his commitment to what he liked to call 'good trouble.'"
Lewis died July 17, 2020, from pancreatic cancer.
Born Feb., 21, 1940, to Alabama sharecroppers, Lewis lived a life of service, dedicated to furthering equality.
In the 1960s, the civil rights leader fought Jim Crow oppression across the South through nonviolent protests, according to his House biography.
On March 7, 1966 -- a day that will be remembered as Bloody Sunday -- Lewis led some 600 people in a march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery.
Lewis, along with other demonstrators, was attacked during the march by police, but the protest aided in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
More than two decades later, Lewis was elected to office where his work to further equality continued through legislation.
Lewis is widely known for urging people to get into what he called "good trouble."
"The action of Rosa Parks and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired me to find a way to get in the way," Lewis told Georgia State University freshman during a convocation ceremony in August of 2019.
"And I got in the way. And I got in trouble, 'good trouble,'" he said.
Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, called the stamp "an incredible honor and tribute" for a man he called a friend and hero.
"May his legacy continue through all of us as we continue his work to protect our democracy and get into good trouble," he tweeted.
"Let it always remind us to get in the good trouble that Congressman Lewis taught us," tweeted Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., who now holds Lewis' 5th congressional district.
