Selma marchers will receive the Congressional Gold Medal
The 1965 Selma to Montgomery marchers will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is Congress’ highest honor, on June 17, 2015.
The marchers, which included now Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), gathered on Edmund Pettis Bridge to peacefully protest against the state of Alabama’s refusal to respect African-Americans’ right to vote.
As the marchers made their way from the bridge towards the city limits of Selma, they were severely beaten by police officers.
The images of the police officers beating the marchers to a bloody pulp led to that day being called “Bloody Sunday.”
The violence did not deter the marchers who on March 21,1965, came back and successfully made their way, with the help of the Alabama National Guard, from Selma to Montgomery.
Almost five months after the “Bloody Sunday” march, then President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965.
The law made it illegal for states to use race or any other social characteristic as a justification to administer test, poll taxes, or other frivolous means in order to determine if someone should have the right to vote.
On the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march, President Obama signed bi-partisan supported legislation that awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the marchers.
The legislation was authored by two Alabama congresswomen, Republican Martha Roby and Democrat Terri Sewell (D-AL ), and received bi-partisan support in the House and the Senate.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) sponsored a similar bill in the Senate to Reps. Roby and Sewell’s bill in the House.
President Obama, former President George W. Bush, and 100 Congressmen and women attended the 50th anniversary commemorating the march.
During his speech commemorating the march, President Obama acknowledged that the country has progressed from its days of Slavery and Jim Crow but that more work needs to be done: “Fifty-years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer.
Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge.”
Note: The information about the “Bloody Sunday” march comes from Lawson, F. Steven. (1997). Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America Since 1941. United States: McGraw-Hill.
The marchers, which included now Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), gathered on Edmund Pettis Bridge to peacefully protest against the state of Alabama’s refusal to respect African-Americans’ right to vote.
As the marchers made their way from the bridge towards the city limits of Selma, they were severely beaten by police officers.
The images of the police officers beating the marchers to a bloody pulp led to that day being called “Bloody Sunday.”
The violence did not deter the marchers who on March 21,1965, came back and successfully made their way, with the help of the Alabama National Guard, from Selma to Montgomery.
Almost five months after the “Bloody Sunday” march, then President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965.
The law made it illegal for states to use race or any other social characteristic as a justification to administer test, poll taxes, or other frivolous means in order to determine if someone should have the right to vote.
On the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march, President Obama signed bi-partisan supported legislation that awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the marchers.
The legislation was authored by two Alabama congresswomen, Republican Martha Roby and Democrat Terri Sewell (D-AL ), and received bi-partisan support in the House and the Senate.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) sponsored a similar bill in the Senate to Reps. Roby and Sewell’s bill in the House.
President Obama, former President George W. Bush, and 100 Congressmen and women attended the 50th anniversary commemorating the march.
During his speech commemorating the march, President Obama acknowledged that the country has progressed from its days of Slavery and Jim Crow but that more work needs to be done: “Fifty-years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer.
Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge.”
Note: The information about the “Bloody Sunday” march comes from Lawson, F. Steven. (1997). Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America Since 1941. United States: McGraw-Hill.
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