By Byron Shehee
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Civil Rights organizations have united to commemorate the 50thAnniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches and the Passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
One of the featured events of the weekend will be an address by the President Barack Obama on Saturday March 7, 2015, which is the actual anniversary day of Bloody Sunday. Event organizers hope the meaning of the original march has been preserved by only having a single re-enactment march on the anniversary Sunday.
Organizers said they are honored that President Obama will participate in the 50th anniversary activities. The President, however, is not currently scheduled to participate in the march’s re-enactment on Sunday, he is only expected to participate in Saturday’s activities.
Civil Rights leaders and political figures like: Rep. John Lewis, Amelia Boynton, Ambassador Andrew Young, Dr. Joseph Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., Dick Gregory and Diane Nash are set to attend the weekend’s events.
In addition to President Obama, Saturday is currently scheduled to feature: Secretary Julian Castro, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Maxine Waters, Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Richard Hatcher and Mayor Charles Evers. The Living Legends Dialogue will feature Diane Nash, Bob Moses, Claudette Colvin, Dr. Bernard Lafayette and the youth leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The unified committee is set to sponsor the Sacred Bloody Sunday Re-Enactment March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday March 8, 2015. No other recognized organizations in the unified committee are scheduled to sponsor and or participate in any other march.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which organized the original Bloody Sunday march is co-sponsoring the weekend’s events with the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. The organizers indicated they are proud to have jointly created more than 40 events for the anniversary and are looking forward to all the weekend’s events.
