Sixty years ago, on March 7, 1965, hundreds of civil rights activists, also known as foot soldiers, marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to fight for the right to vote for Black people. As they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama State Troopers brutally beat them. The violence these activists endured became synonymous with the struggle for Black enfranchisement.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge march, alongside three other marches in Alabama, helped Congress recognize the urgency with which it must pass voting rights legislation. Mere weeks after the Edmund Pettus march, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was presented to Congress on March 17, 1965. President Johnson signed the bill into law on August 6, 1965.
Since 1965, voting rights advocates have gathered in Alabama annually for the Selma Jubilee to mark the anniversary by marching the Edmund Pettus Bridge in remembrance. This was the first year the American Civil Liberties Union sponsored the Selma Jubilee, and I was lucky enough to travel to Alabama to witness the march firsthand.
Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon
Early that morning, we gathered at the historic Brown AME chapel, which played a large role in the civil rights movement. Activists would gather here to plan protests and civil rights efforts, and this church was the original meeting place before the march.
On the steps of the chapel before the march to Selma, speakers from voting rights groups nationwide recognized the original marchers, also known as foot soldiers, while contextualizing the current state of voting rights.
Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon
Yasmin Cader, the director of the ACLU Trone Center for Justice, kicked us off by reminding us how the current fights for voting rights and racial justice are intertwined.
Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon
We began to march toward Edmund Pettus Bridge, led by the ACLU of Alabama, holding signs and singing protest songs. The energy in the crowd was electric. While we are all different, we gathered in Selma because of our shared belief in the enduring power of justice.
As we approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, everyone moved back to ensure the foot soldiers had the chance to cross the bridge first. Watching them march, I was struck by the history of the moment. These brave people were willing to risk everything for the right to participate in democracy.
Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon
As I marched across the bridge, I reflected on how we still have work to do to ensure that we live up to the promise of the Voting Rights Act. While the methods may change, the right to vote is still under attack nationwide. We’re fighting in court to ensure that states like Louisanna maintain voting districts that give black voters equal representation, and politicians are trying to pass bills like the SAVE Act that would make it more difficult to vote.
We honor the foot soldiers by continuing their fight.
