Selma-to-Montgomery March Anniversary March 4-9 Could Be the Biggest Ever
February 28th, 2012
They are calling it the “March for America” this year, and emphasizing the fact that due to Alabama’s draconian anti-immigration law, the struggle for civil rights continues. Organizers say the 47th anniversary of Bloody Sunday could be the biggest civil rights march in a very long time and involve new groups of activists, especially Hispanics and unions, even women who feel the Alabama legislature is threatening their Constitutional right to privacy with an invasive new anti-abortion bill.
From March 4-9, the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee or better known as “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama, attracts thousands of people who convene to retrace history by marching across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. But this year holds special significance due to the rights of those under attack since the Republican Party took over all three branches of government in the state and appears hell-bent on creating the whitest and most religious conservative state government in the country.
As a result of the national assault on voting rights, and the clear shift from federal to state by state attacks on civil rights, a decision was made to add a re-creation of the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, according to event organizers.
“It was clear that nearly 47 years later, the attempts to silence the people are still in full assault mode,” organizers said in a press release announcing the schedule for the events. “Today, the field has expanded. Workers and their unions are under attack in nearly every state. Public education, and the basic right to a quality education for our children, is slowly being dismantled.”
There will be church services, teach-ins and workshops aimed at both remembering and learning from the experiences of the 1965 Voting Rights struggle.
The dream that the American forefathers had, according to organizers — the ability to come to our great country for a better life — “is being shattered.”
State legislatures all over the country have “declared war on the very people that built this country and pay the taxes to keep it strong.”
Schedule of Events
March 4
Brown Chapel AME Church services 7 a.m.
Rally and March across Bridge 1:30 p.m.
March 5-9
March each day starts at 9 a.m.
Evening community events 6 p.m.
March 9
Alabama State Univiversity event 9 a.m.
Rally at State Capitol 11:30 a.m.
Hosts
Faya Rose Toure and Senator Hank Sanders
National Union Officers
Arlene Holt Baker and Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO; Randi Weingarten, AFT; Tom Buffenbarger, IAM; Bob King, UAW; Lee Saunders, AFSCME; Mary Kay Henry, Eliseo Medina & Gerald Hudson, SEIU; Bill Lucy, CBTU; Cecil Roberts, UMWA.
National Coalitions
Benjamin Jealous, NAACP; Rev. Al Sharpton, NAN; Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow-Push; Deepak Bhargava, CCC; Janet Murguia, La Raza.
Congressional Delegation
Congressman John Lewis will lead a delegation of members of Congress that will participate in the Selma-to-Montgomery activities.
Student Delegations
Administration, Faculty and Students at Alabama State University and Tuskegee University will mobilize the campuses to participate in the week of activities, including teach-ins.
Bus Operations
AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils, along with Community Services Liaisons, in Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Mobile, Birmingham and Jackson, Miss. have set up bus operations working with local unions and community partners. These buses will attend the March 9th rally at the State Capitol. In addition, there are buses being organized by AFGE, SEIU, UMWA, USW, UAW, CBTU, and our Coalition partners. If you are interested in the bus operations, please contact them directly:
Denise Mays: 404-525-3559
Janine Brown: 404-527-7417
Michael Allen: 615-780-2413
Pat Rabbeitt: 251-431-0101
Casel Jones: 901-299-5261
Terry Davis: 205-903-1568
Jim Evans: 601-209-2928
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments