Tens of Thousands Cross Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday
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Everyone in Selma wanted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge yesterday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. At times, the crowd on the bridge wasn’t even moving.
The 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma was an emotional day for many.
“I am replicating the footsteps of Bloody Sunday 50 years ago,” said Gladys Lee of Savannah, Georgia. “And I’m grateful that I have the opportunity because I fully understand what the Voting Rights Act is all about.”
Tens of thousands of people marched across Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site where the Selma to Montgomery marches began. While many on the bridge were not alive on Bloody Sunday, others remember exactly where they were on that day.
“I was 13 and we lived a mile on the other side of the bridge,” said Ruth Cummings. “And what we could see, Bloody Sunday, was the confusion. I actually had a brother who was here as well.”
Ruth and her husband Claude say they hope people remember the purpose of the Selma to Montgomery marches.
“I’m hopeful that people will leave here and then go back to their communities and then join an organization, register people to vote and then get them to the polls to vote,” he said.
President Barrack Obama came to Selma on Saturday but some say Sunday ended up being an even bigger day.
“It looks like it’s got to be over 100 thousand people,” said one marcher.
“All of us being together for this freedom march, I thank God for being here,” said Thelma Jones.
“We’re celebrating history and we’re coming together,” said Joshua Fuller. “You see people of all different colors, all different races and it’s celebrating equality and voting rights and that’s really what we’re here for.”
