All eyes were on Selma this weekend as tens of thousands— including President Obama and a host of political dignitaries—came to this Alabama hamlet to commemorate a seminal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
They were in attendance to recognize the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” —that fateful day when peaceful protesters sought to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge as part of a 45-mile march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery for the right to vote. Their attempt was met with vicious attacks from local police officers, resulting in spilled blood and battered bodies. As a shocked nation watched, that day of infamy— and the two subsequent protest marches —would inevitably lead to passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The bravery of those foot soldiers paved the way for all Americans to gain the opportunity to exercise their franchise and five decades of political milestones, including the election of the first African American president.
In this slideshow, with photos taken by former BLACK ENTERPRISE Associate Art Director Mary Brown, we share with you this exclusive essay of this past weekend’s activities.
Outside of Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, which held commemorative services throughout the weekend, large numbers came to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the foot soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for voting rights.
On Friday, businesspeople like BE 100s CEO Greg Calhoun, who operates Alabama-based Calhoun Enterprises and participated in the Selma marches with his family as a child, and his wife, Verlyn, worked to move forward today’s economic agenda. At the “Bloody Sunday” Commemorative Lunch, they recognized civil rights leaders Jesse L. Jackson, Amelia Robinson, Fred David Gray, C.T. Vivian and Andrew Young as well as garnered support for the Montgomery Improvement Association Foundation named after the organization that guided the 1955 bus boycott that placed a national spotlight on the civil rights movement and its leader, Dr. King.
Tens of thousands gathered to pay tribute to those who spilled blood so that all can exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Among the celebrities who attended this momentous gathering was actor/activist Danny Glover.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus like Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) came to Selma not only for the commemoration but to fiercely advocate for attendees to fight for restoration of the Voting Rights Act. Key provisions of VRA were weakened in a 2013 Supreme Court decision.
Rainbow Push President Rev. Jackson was another prominent figure who could be found at the event. Just two decades after Selma the civil rights activist became the first African American to make a serious bid for the White House in his 1984 and 1988 campaigns.
Platform dignitaries for Saturday’s main event included President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; former President George W. Bush and First Lady Lara Bush; and civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia).
As a young leader for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis was always on the front lines in the fight against Jim Crow. Among those brutally beaten during “Blood Sunday”, he refused to let the wounds from that day keep him from continuing to march and spending more than 50 years battling for civil rights.
President Obama delivered a powerful speech to an estimated 40,000 people gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, citing Selma as a powerful example of the constant activism needed to remake America.
President Obama also noted that while there has been great advancement in race relations, much action needs to be taken to end institutional racism and injustice. His speech came just days after the Justice Department found that the police department of Ferguson, Missouri engages in an ongoing pattern of racially oppressive practices.
President Obama: “We know the march isn’t over yet; we know the race is not yet won. We know that reaching the blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character requires admitting as much.”
President Obama, who led thousands to the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Saturday, took time to greet and talk to Selma residents and ceremony participants.
Attorney General Eric Holder, who has spent the past six years combating voting suppression laws, appears at special church service at Brown Chapel before Sunday’s march re-enactment.
Rev. Al Sharpton discusses the significance of Selma 50 years later while charging attendees to be vigilant in fighting for justice and equality today.
Thousands retrace the steps of the marchers who changed America.