DETROIT (AP) — Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the Selma bridge crossing and “Bloody Sunday,” when more than 500 demonstrators gathered to demand the right to vote and cross Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. They were met by dozens of state troopers on that March 7, 1965, day, and many marchers were severely beaten.
This year’s commemoration will be different. It will largely be virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And it’s the first without the towering presence of civil rights icons Congressman John Lewis, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, the Rev. C.T. Vivian and attorney Bruce Boynton, who all died in 2020.
The virtual event is free to watch. You can register and find the full schedule of events by visiting selmajubilee.com.
