(SELMA, Ala.) — The first family, and numerous other political figures, are traveling to Selma on Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are in Alabama Saturday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, New York Rep. Charles Rangel and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro were among the dozens of members of Congress in attendance.
So honored & so moved to my join colleagues on the steps of the 16th St. Baptist Church. pic.twitter.com/yNBDTAvENc
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) March 6, 2015
Tribute to the courageous marchers of #BloodySunday as our nation marks #Selma50 http://t.co/xuVKBPSQ80
— Charles Rangel (@cbrangel) March 6, 2015
At Civil Rights Institute in Alabama to commemorate 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma. pic.twitter.com/KFhDbzBZ6W
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) March 7, 2015
Also expected to participate are former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, and Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who participated in the marches 50 years ago.
The first of the marches took place on March 7, 1965, when hundreds of people gathered in Selma and marched towards Montgomery. On the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, state troopers and county members attacked the marchers, an indelible image of the civil rights movement captured in this year’s film Selma.
Two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led approximately 2,500 marchers back to the bridge before turning around, obeying a court order that prevented the full march. A third march, on March 21, 1965, saw the participants reach Montgomery, escorted by 1,000 military policement and 2,000 Army troops. Thousands joined along the way, with nearly 25,000 entering the state capital, making it to the Alabam State Capitol Building on March 25.
Months later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which had been passed by Congress, eliminating legal barriers which prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
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