Today is the Commemoration of "Bloody Sunday"

On this day in 1965, in Selma, all white Alabama State Troopers, acting on the orders of Gov. George Wallace (D), aided by local law enforcement and citizen volunteers, used tear gas, clubs and brute force to prevent peaceful voting rights marchers from crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The march had been organized by Rev. Joseph Lowery, future Congressman John Lewis and local leaders who had planned a Selma to Montgomery march to protest the state of Alabama's systemic disenfranchisement of Black citizens.

The senseless violence was broadcast globally on TV screens. Martin Luther King Jr. rushed to Selma to meet with the beaten and battered voting rights marchers. Under the protection of the National Guard and FBI, King then led a much larger group of voting rights marchers across the bridge and on to Montgomery.

The national outrage over the senseless violence helped lead to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The events of Bloody Sunday and a ceremonial re-enactment of the crossing of the historic bridge have been an annual event in Selma for decades.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL07), who represents Selma today and is an actual Selma native, is hosting her colleagues to Alabama for the 2025 Faith and Politics Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage. The annual event honors the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama by retracing its pivotal steps and offering a unique opportunity for Members of Congress, local government officials, and business leaders, to convene, reflect, and engage in meaningful dialogue on our shared history. This year, attendees will commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and celebrate the theme, Walking Forward Together.

"I spent the day welcoming my colleagues to Alabama!" Rep. Sewell said on Friday. "We kicked off our annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage in Selma and commemorated the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. We're looking forward to a weekend of remembrance, reflection, and rededication."

There is also an annual commemoration event at Selma's historic Brown Chapel AME Church, where the original voting rights marchers worshipped before leaving for that first attempted bridge crossing.