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Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, introduced HR7893, legislation to rename the Marion Post Office, located at 306 Pickens Street, after the late Civil Rights Leader Albert Turner, Sr. The bill is cosponsored by every member of Alabama’s House delegation.
“Albert Turner, Sr. is a Civil Rights legend whose impact on Alabama and this nation should never be forgotten,” said Rep. Sewell. “From his activism alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to his critical work at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Albert Turner, Sr. played a pivotal role in securing the rights and freedoms that we as African Americans enjoy today. By renaming the Marion Post Office after him, we can ensure that his legacy lives on for generations to come. I thank my Alabama colleagues in the House for their partnership in this important endeavor and I look forward to getting this bill passed and signed into law!”
“It will be the highlight of my lifetime to see the Federal Government recognize the unselfish comment my father gave to help change the course of this Nation. The Marion Post Office is the same Post Office where my father attempted to lead marchers in 1965 past to protect James Orange, who had been housed in Perry County jail for encouraging students to register to vote. That attempted march was the same march in which an Alabama State Trooper murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson. The ensuing protest of the killing led to the Bloody Sunday March, which led to the 1965 Voting Rights Bill being signed into law,” said Perry County Commissioner Albert Turner, Jr.
Albert Turner, Sr. was born in Perry County, Alabama in 1936. He devoted his life to the Civil Rights Movement, fighting to ensure equal access to the ballot box for African Americans. Turner worked closely with prominent leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., served as the Alabama Field Secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and even founded the Perry County Civic League to organize protests and boycotts for the racial integration of public facilities and schools. Turner passed away on April 13, 2000, at the age of 64.
Once enacted, this legislation will officially rename the Marion Post Office as the ‘‘Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office Building.’’
Bill text is available here.
