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On Bloody Sunday, March 7th, 1965, 600 African Americans and their allies left Selma, Alabama, marching to Montgomery, demanding voting rights. While crossing Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were attacked by the Alabama State Police using nightsticks, electric cattle prods, dogs and tear gas. Images of the violence spread globally. John Lewis, the 25-year-old chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, leading the march, was hospitalized with a concussion.
His commitment to the principles of justice, equality, and the power of nonviolent protest should serve as a North Star as we navigate these difficult days. John Lewis, civil rights icon and 17-term Congressmember, died July 17th of pancreatic cancer, aged 80.
Eight days after Bloody Sunday, the bravery of the marchers forced President Lyndon Johnson to address a joint session of Congress, imploring passage of the ... Read More →
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