Lillington, North Carolina, is located in central Hartnett County along the scenic banks of the Cape Fear River.  The town serves as the county seat and has approximately 4,000 residents.  Lillington is conveniently centered between the cities of Raleigh and Fayetteville.  According to the Lillington website:

The town enjoys a proud, small-town heritage with an excellent quality of life.

On Saturday,  the small town of Lillington hosted an exciting political event:

Representative John Lewis was in North Carolina to commemorate the signing of the civil rights act of 1964.  The event took place at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.  There was beautiful singing by the choir and people heard a recording of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech.

Later in the day, Representative Lewis was a speaker at the Lillington Community.

Lewis is a thirteen-term congressman from Atlanta and was a leading participant in nearly all of the pivotal events of the civil rights movement—the Nashville sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the Mississippi Freedom Summer. But his signature achievement is the VRA.

According to his Political website:

Often called  “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced,” John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America.   His dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress.

He has been called “the conscience of the U.S. Congress,” and Roll Call magazine has said, “John Lewis…is a genuine American hero and moral leader who commands widespread respect in the chamber.”

Steve Starnes wrote the following on his Facebook page about the evening:

What an extraordinary evening. I met a national icon and hero, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, I was also privileged to meet Congressman David Price of the NC 4th Congressional District and rubbed elbows with NC Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley, Judge Ola Lewis who is running for Chief Justice of NC Supreme Court, District Court Candidate Stephen Craig Stokes, Clay Aiken, Candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, Jim Langley, NC Senate Candidate and other great leaders. Of course the evening wouldn’t have been the same without my friend Cynthia Flowers, Mayor Chris V. Reyand his lovely wife Adwoa Ansah Rey.

Look at the following picture…It looks like Clay had the opportunity to sit next to Congressman Lewis in the front row.  I hope Clay and Nick had an enjoyable evening.

The following are a few more tweets and messages about the evening.

Paul Long posted the following on Facebook:

Congressman Price speaking to a room full of people. Randy Voller is here and Clay Aikens is here sitting with Congressman Lewis Joe Langley among many other candidates and good friends and people. I am excited. Also Teresa Sloan-Oudeh Carolyn Mcdougal McDougal and Karol Suárez.

Came home so happy I got to meet and talk Congressman John Lewis. We talked about the obstruction in Congress and the Voting Rights Act he is hoping there is enough bipartisan support to fix it. This was a great day getting to meet a man that has worked so hard for the people of this country. He is a Great Man, youngest to speak at the March on Washington and he was here in our town. Got some better pics that I will upload later but for starters

Clay Aiken with Congressman John Lewis and Mayor Chris V. Rey

From Twitter:

Mayor Chris V. Rey ‏@ChrisRey4NC  6m

@ForwardAmerican @MlbMohala @clayaiken @ClayForNC @repjohnlewis What an amazing day. I appreciate you all being there. #ForwardNC

I would imagine that we might hear more about the event tomorrow.  

Kudos to Clay Aiken for being a part of this exciting event.