Bloody Sunday memorial honors late civil rights giants
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Activists who gathered virtually and in person to commemorate a pivotal day in the civil rights struggle that became known as Bloody Sunday called on people to continue the fight for voting rights as they also honored giants of the civil rights movement, including the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died last year.
The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee marks the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the day on March 7, 1965, that civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, and attorney Bruce Boynton were the late civil rights leaders honored on Sunday.
The day became a turning point in the fight for voting rights. Footage of the beatings helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This year’s commemoration comes as some states seek to roll back expanded early and mail-in voting access and efforts have been unsuccessful to restore a key section of the Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval for any changes to voting procedures.
Many speakers throughout the day's events emphasized the need for continued activism to protect voting access.
“Voter suppression is still alive and well," said U.S. Rep. Teri Sewell, a Democrat who represents the 7th Congressional District which includes Selma. “It reminds us that progress is elusive and every generation must fight and fight again.”
Sewell spoke during a video that featured comments from activists, mayors, members of Congress and others about the historic anniversary. Later, organizers played video footage of activists, many who had been part of the original Bloody Sunday events in 1965, crossing the bridge once again. They wore masks and in keeping with...