Friend,

Over the weekend, I joined civil rights elders, activist legends, and voting rights organizers in Selma, Alabama for the 57th Bridge Crossing Jubilee — a yearly celebration honoring the anniversary of the Edmund Pettus Bridge crossing, known as Bloody Sunday.

For those who need a refresher: On March 7th of 1965, over 500 Black demonstrators gathered to demand the right to vote. The group gathered at a nearby church, then began to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The demonstrators were met by State Troopers and possemen, who violently attacked the peaceful marchers — a horrifying scene that was broadcast on live television.

The brutality of the attack caught the American public’s attention. Two weeks later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of civil rights protestors in a 49 mile march from the site of the attack to the state capital. Shortly after, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act — many credit this march as a triggering factor for the long-overdue passage of that seminal legislation.

Every year on the first weekend of March, we commemorate the bloody confrontation on the Edmund Pettus Bridge as well as the march from Selma to Montgomery that resulted in victory. I was honored to attend many of the Jubilee events this year.

Image Description: (from left) Kevin Coker, Attorney at the public defender of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County, Rev. Stephen Green, pastor at the Luke NYC Church and Chair of Faith for Black Lives, and Anthony Davis Jr. at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

So much has changed since 1965, but when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013 the table was set for the continued and relentless suppression efforts by the GOP to deny Americans the right to vote. Groundwork Project is proud to support and partner with voting rights organizers on the ground who are just as relentless in their efforts to reclaim and advance voting rights in the South and across the US.

So many Groundwork Project friends, grantees, and partners sponsored, contributed, and attended the Bridge Crossing Jubilee this weekend. We’re so grateful for their continued work in honoring our history and building a better future.

If you’d like to help us continue to support the work of our partners and beyond, please give to Groundwork Project here.


Image Description: NAACP's National Youth and College Director, Anthony Davis Jr., and NAACP National Field Director for the Youth and College Division

The fight continues.
 

Sincerely,


Anthony Davis Jr.
Regional Organizing Advisor



 


 

 

 

>Founded by Joe Kennedy III, Groundwork Project invests in year-round, local community organizing in places Democrats have gotten used to writing off. With a focus on Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, we support local advocates and activists working to build durable political infrastructure and secure power for those historically excluded.
 

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