March 7, 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomey, Alabama march, known as the “Bloody Sunday.” In 1965 civil rights activists and marchers were beaten by the police while trying to march to Montgomery. The annual event, this year, took place amid persistently growing challenges to Voting Rights that were the foundation of the march. US Civil Rights and Racial Justice Activists and leaders have stressed that the dynamics leading to the ceremonies and gatherings this year have been driven by a mixture of recognition of the accomplishments, fear in face of new challenges, dejection, defiance, and determination for a renewal.
Contrary to the previous years, top US elected leaders did not participate in the annual Bridge Cross Jubilee to address a crowd of thousands. However, congressional leaders have gathered in Selma in remembrance of Bloody Sunday.
This is the fifth Selma Commemoration after the passing of John Lewis, one of the Civil Rights icons and marchers (see Selma: Commemorating the 56th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches; Stacey Abrams Leading the Way to Achieve John Lewis' Dream). On March 7, 1965, John Lewis and 600 other civil rights demonstrators crossed the bridge from Selma for a planned march to Montgomery to protest voting discrimination against Black Americans.
The commemoration usually includes the march of thousands of people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The violence on the bridge originally named after a Confederate general and a known klansman, shocked the nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act by President Johnson in 1965.Over the years, the crowd included the icon marcher John Lewis, former US Presidents, several Civil Rights Movement leaders, both Black and White, a large number of American politicians, and, most importantly, the people whose lives were changed by the Salma Marches, forever.The Selma Marches happened in America, but has inspired other oppressed people around the World.
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As the Anniversary was being prepared, NAACP President Derrick Johnson highlighted the challenges faced in these times, especially focusing on the perceived erosion of the fundamental rights and economic protections gained due to the actions of civil rights movements."Selma was never just about the past, It's about the future — about whether we will protect what so many fought and died for," he said, adding that "the fight for voting rights was never just about ballots — it was about dignity. And today, policymakers are seeking to steal that dignity, whether by defunding essential programs or undermining our democracy."
Margaret Huang, the president and CEO of Southern Poverty Law Center, told the media that this year is different given the on-going dynamics, saying: "For the first time in years, there will be no federal participation in Jubilee. That's a signal about where civil rights and our legacy sit in this country."
The commemoration comes in the period when federal affirmative action programs are threatened, and after the dismantlement of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and limiting classroom discussions on race.
©2025 AfroAmerica Network
Selma: Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches, Amid Complex Dynamics
Selma March Commemoration with President Barack Obama
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