Deborah Barfield BerryUSA TODAY
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Hundreds of peaceful protestors werecrossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama 60 years ago today when they were met by a wall of police.Protesters were tear gassed and beaten. A young man named John Lewis suffered a fractured skull.
Led by Martin Luther King, Jr., Lewis and others, the protestors returned later that month and completed the 54-mile march to Montgomery in their push for voting rights.
Most of the original marchers, like Lewis, who went on to become a leading member of Congress, have since died, but this weekend, faith leaders, members of congress and civil rights veterans will gather in Selma to commemorate the 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday," which helped lead to landmark federal voting rights legislation.
The anniversary will be marked by a host of programs, including a service at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, where activists gathered for the march. A bipartisan congressional delegation will travel to Alabama to remember the history and salute civil rights veterans, including Lewis, who for years led the annual congressional pilgrimage there.
“It really is about looking back, but also looking forward," said Robert Traynham, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Faith & Politics Institute, which host the congressional trip. “The 60th anniversary is honoring the legacy and the impact of these individuals, what these leaders did 60 years ago. But it really is about how do we take those lessons learned, how do we take that impact that they made 60 years ago and apply that to today."
The milestone anniversary comes at a crucial time as some states adopt measures to restrict the teaching of Black history, ban books and impose election changes that activists said disenfranchise voters of color.
“We are hearing attacks constantly now from the new administration, from members of Congress who are claiming that our history, and particularly the history of Black folks and communities of color in this country, is not important, is not worthy of being told," said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center and SPLC Action Fund.
It’s important, she said, to acknowledge the “foot soldiers" in places like Selma, who risked their lives to fight for voting rights.
“This is some of the most inspiring stories of courage and resilience that we have in our history, that people, everyday people, stood up and demanded that the country give equal protection under the laws and equal access to the ballot box," Huang said.
Bloody Sunday is worthy of remembering
The televised brutality on the Edmund Pettus Bridge 60 years ago garnered national attention and was a turning point in the civil rights movement.The landmark Voting Rights Act was signed into law that summer.
What King, Lewis and others “were able to do was to shock the nation by revealing the violence of Jim Crow and resistance to integration," said Bryan Stevenson, founder of theEqual Justice Initiative,a human rights organization pushing to end mass incarceration.
“The visual spectacle of all of that violence against nonviolent protesters is what moved this country,” he said.
Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, co-host of the congressional pilgrimage, said the commemoration is a chance to reflect on an important part of American history and inspire people to protect democracy.
“What happened on Bloody Sunday is worthy of remembering so that we will never forget it,’’ she said.
'We're still in the midst of this struggle'
Throughout the weekend, there will be a host of commemoration events spearheaded by different organizations, including the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee.
More than 40 members of Congress are expected to join the Faith & Politics three-day trip, which includes stops at historic sites in Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma.
Guests will also include descendants of some of Alabama’s legendary civil rights veterans, including the late Fred Shuttlesworth.
On Friday, the group will visit the Edmund Pettus Bridge for a moment of reflection.
“That quiet reflection of looking back and honoring, obviously all of the foot soldiers, all of the civil rights leaders, I think it's the most important thing that we can be doing, not just on Friday, but every day," said Traynham.
The Brown Chapel AME Church, which served as a command center and rest stop for protestors, will host a program Sunday featuring Stevenson.
“Brown Chapel was not going to sit on the sidelines as a spectator while there were persons who were brave enough, courageous enough, faithful enough to participate,’’ said Pastor Leodis Strong. “They didn't see it as an epic history watershed moment, they saw it as just a struggle for their lives, their human dignity.”
Stevenson said the anniversary is a reminder of the nation’s “shameful history of disenfranchisement” and why participating in the political process is important.
“We're still in the midst of this struggle,’’ said Stevenson, who last year opened a sculpture park in Montgomery dedicated to preserving Black history. “There is still intense resistance to Black political power through the vote. We've seen gerrymandering. We've seen restrictions on voting rights. We're seeing the resurgence of new barriers that disproportionately impact poor people and Black people when it comes to registering to vote.“
Stevenson said his message Sunday will be “you're not too old or not too young to stand up for justice, to make a difference. And that's the legacy of Bloody Sunday and the activism of the march in 1965.”
More: New Alabama sculpture park, Black history museums are changing the way history is told
Push for John Lewis voting right bill
With attention focused on the anniversary, Democrats also hope to press Congress to act on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The federal bill would among other thingsrestore a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before making election changes.
“The fight for voting rights is just as urgent as it was 60 years ago," said Sewell, who reintroduced the bill Wednesday.
Opponents argue the bill is unnecessary and that much has changed since the 1960s, when states erected barriers to prevent Black people from voting. Supporters acknowledge it stands little chance of passing in the Republican-controlled Congress.
Still, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who has championed the bill, said it's worth trying. He said attention to the commemoration may help.
“I hope it will serve to keep the focus on that. Every chance I get, I try to remind people that we don’t have the luxury" of not passing the measure, said Clyburn, a close friend of Lewis’ and an honorary chair of the congressional pilgrimage.
Faith leaders, lawmakers and activists said they also hope the commemoration will spur efforts to protect voting rights and support social justice.
“We were right in 1965 to lift up social (justice), we're right now," Strong said. “You’re not going to be able to make America great by marching backwards … We're going to have to keep marching forward because the best of America is forward."
Follow Deborah Berry on X at @dberrygannett and on Bluesky at @dberryjourno.bsky.social
