From staff reports
The 56th Anniversary Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, the largest annual civil rights event in the nation, will take place March 5-7 to honor the past, examine the present and look forward to the future of the fight for equity and justice. This year’s theme, “Beyond the Bridge: People Power, Political Power, Economic Power,” encourages unity.
This epic undertaking is making history in a brand new way by going global and virtual for the first time ever! The Jubilee will be a time of celebration, education and commemoration, with activities for people of all ages — and the entire weekend is designed for participants to stay engaged, stay safe and log in from anywhere in the world.
You won’t want to miss:
- A special appearance by legendary civil rights leaders, Ambassador Andrew Young and Dolores Huerta
- A tribute to the late Congressman John Lewis
- Powerful stories of Foot Soldiers in the movement, in their own words
- Step Show and Battle of the Bands Competitions
- A soul-stirring Gospel Concert
- Virtual Music and Film Festivals
- The Virtual Crossing Reenactment across the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
- and so much more!
Organizers are committed to the commemoration and preservation of the spirit of the struggle for the right to vote in this country and the world. The goal is to inspire people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to respect and appreciate the power of their vote.
This annual event in Selma, Al commemorates “Bloody Sunday,” which occurred March 7, 1965 when a group of about 525 African-American demonstrators gathered at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to demand the right to vote. They walked six blocks to Broad Street and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they were met by more than 50 state troopers and a few dozen possemen on horseback.
When the demonstrators refused to turn back, they were brutally beaten. At least 17 were hospitalized, and 40 others received treatment for injuries and the effects of tear gas.
The attack, which was broadcast on national television, caught the attention of millions of Americans and became a symbol of the brutal racism of the South.
Two weeks later, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and 3,200 civil rights protesters marched the 49 miles from Selma to the state capital, Montgomery — an event that prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act.
Every year on the first weekend in March, the Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates both the bloody confrontation at the Pettus Bridge and the march from Selma to Montgomery that followed. Events include a parade, a Miss Jubilee Pageant, a mock trial, and a commemorative march to the bridge. Every five years, celebrants continue all the way to Montgomery.
Every year the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Inc., hosts the commemoration of this historic event and the struggle for the right to vote by gathering at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a festival of music, art and historical remembrance.
See schedule of events on page 8.
