John Lewis and Elwin Wilson will receive the Common Ground award
(AP) -- Georgia Rep. John Lewis and the man who attacked him during a civil rights protest in 1961 have been chosen to receive the Common Ground award.
Lewis and Elwin Wilson will receive the award Thursday at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.
The honor is given to those who have made significant contributions to bridging divides between people, finding solutions to seemly uncontrollable problems, and providing inspiration and hope to many.
Wilson was part of a mob that attacked Lewis and other Freedom Riders for entering the waiting area of a bus station in Rock Hill, S.C. marked "Whites Only" in May 1961. The men met again 48 years later when Elwin apologized to Lewis in January and the congressman accepted.
Wilson once took part in the KKK but now speaks out against racial bigotry.
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