Today, we’re remembering the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. This dark moment in history, known as Bloody Sunday, was a turning point in the fight for voting rights.
On March 7, 1965, peaceful protestors took to the highway from Selma to Montgomery calling for the constitutional right to vote for African American citizens. In response to their nonviolent efforts, state and county troopers brutally attacked unarmed marchers – leaving them bruised, beaten, and bleeding. This gruesome assault on peaceful demonstrators went on to be known as Bloody Sunday.
The march played an instrumental part in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and every year on this day, I am reminded of the courage of the freedom fighters who led and bled for the freedoms we have today.
As a native of Selma, it is both humbling and bittersweet to know that my community had such an influential role in crafting the fabric of this nation. The march across Edmund Pettus Bridge wasn’t just a turning point in Black history, but American history as well.
As the representative of AL-07, the nation’s Civil Rights District, I know it’s my duty to continue on the path to equity for all, from combating discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community to protecting and expanding voting rights for disenfranchised communities. Trust me when I say, I do not take this responsibility lightly.
That’s why today, in honor of Bloody Sunday, I’m honored to welcome President Biden to attend the annual crossing of Edmund Pettus Bridge. Just as the violence that occurred on Bloody Sunday was captured on television for the nation to see, we will once again broadcast that our resolve to achieve racial justice and equity is stronger than division.
And what greater way to show our resolve to protect voting rights than having the President of the United States march alongside us.
I hope we all take some time today to reflect on the sacrifices made 58 years ago this very day. There will always be unfinished business in the fight for equality, but in the words of my late friend, Rep. John Lewis: it’s our job to continue the good, necessary trouble of redeeming the soul of this nation.
Thank you for being a part of this movement with me.
In solidarity,
Terri
Terri Sewell for Congress
PO Box 1964
Birmingham, AL 35201
United States
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