WASHINGTON -- Georgia Rep. John Lewis and the man who attacked him during a civil rights protest in 1961, received the Common Ground Award.

In May 1961, according to Lewis’ Web site, Elwin 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, SC.

Wilson apologized to Lewis 48 years after the attack and now speaks out against racial bigotry.

The two were honored Thursday in Washington, D.C.