Bloody Sunday 52nd Anniversary March

March 5th marked the 52nd Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma.

Hundreds of people gathered in Selma to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 52 years after the original protestors marched in the Civil Rights Movement. Some people who marched during that time were there to cross the bridge again, and were so thankful their efforts weren’t forgotten.

“We were scared, but we had the gall and the, you know, being young, we wanted to stand up for what we knew was right. So we did it anyway, but we were afraid,” said Ann Richardson. An Orrville resident, Richardson says she marched across the Edmund Pettus back in 1965.

Others came from across the nation to be a part of the historic event.

“And because we can never forget what this bridge symbolizes, what has happened on this bridge… As long as we always remember that, we will never allow it to happen again,” said marcher Lillian Nahar, from San Diego, California.

For the first time, a small reenactment took place towards the end of the march. There were people acting as law enforcement of the time, fake tear gas, and volunteers ran from the staged counter protest. Organizers said it was a way to show younger marchers what their ancestors went through 52 years ago.

“I think it’ll kind of give me the opportunity to maybe see what they went through, but not as, you know, violent but the peaceful part,” said Lodealila Taylor. This was Taylor’s second time participating in the march. “To be able to March in peace and in unity, you know it’ll bring a sense of, to me a sense of closure to… Of the things that went on back then but now it’s like it’s real.”