Senator Jon Ossoff and John Lewis: An Unlikely Friendship

At age 16, Ossoff read John Lewis's memoir, Walking with the Wind, and was deeply inspired. He wrote Lewis a letter requesting a meeting, and Lewis offered him an internship in his congressional office on the spot.

This initial professional start blossomed into a multi-year mentorship and close personal relationship. Since his election to the Senate, he, now 39, has often described Lewis as a foundational influence, keeping a portrait of Lewis in his Senate office and championing voting-rights legislation tied to Lewis’s legacy.