Sunday commemorated the 55th anniversary of the March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The original march, which led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, happened on March 7, 1965.
This year, the commemoration takes place the Sunday before Super Tuesday. The Democratic candidates, except for Senator Sanders who will hold a rally in California, participated in the event.
Mayor Bloomberg attended the historic Brown Chapel AME Church but, that didn’t go over very well. Several parishioners stood with their backs to him in protest of his past racist comments and policies.
Civil rights icon and US Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia will attend a “Bloody Sunday” commemorative march in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday, his chief of staff Michael Collins told CNN.
Lewis, who had his skull broken by white police officers during the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December. At the time, Lewis said he would undergo treatment for the cancer, and speculation swirled about whether the longtime congressman would be able to participate in the 55th anniversary march.
The commemorative march pays tribute to the key civil rights protest pushing for voting rights in which participants attempted to walk from Selma to Alabama’s capital, Montgomery. One of the pivotal days was March 7, 1965, when 17 people, including Lewis, were injured by police.
John Lewis today:
