Effort Underway to Rename Selma Voting Rights Symbol to Honor Civil Rights Icon

From the West Alabama Newsroom–

Could the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma — be getting a name change?

Well, there’s an effort underway online to rename the bridge in honor of Civil Rights icon — Georgia congressman — and Troy native — John Lewis.

The historic Edmund Pettus Bridge is usually the first place people stop when they visit Selma.

It’s used as a backdrop for selfies — or walked across — so people can connect with its history.

Mark Roberts and his wife stopped to take pictures at the bridge Thursday morning.

They’re on their way back home to South Carolina — after attending the National Championship football game in New Orleans.

Roberts says the effort to rename the bridge in honor of Rep. John Lewis — makes sense to him.

“Naming it after John Lewis? That seems appropriate to me. I don’t really know who Edmund Pettus is so if I did, it might make a difference, but certainly it makes complete sense to me to name it after John Lewis since he’s so tied to it.”

Atlanta resident Jane Norris and her husband stopped in Selma on their way to Texas.

“I think that would be wonderful,” said Norris.

“‘Specially now with John suffering from pancreatic cancer, I think that that would be a very fitting tribute to him.”

Lewis was one of the leaders of the march on Bloody Sunday when about 300 marchers were attacked and beaten by state troopers back in 1965.

Voting Rights historian Sam Walker says the Edmund Pettus Bridge is registered as a National Historic Landmark.

He says changing the name of it will be an uphill challenge.

“It’ll probably take an act of Congress,” said Walker.

Walker says there was a similar effort back 2015 to have Sam and Amelia Boynton’s names added to the bridge.

“The effort to put John Lewis name on it, this the first time I’ve heard about that. But if we were going to add something we would prefer the Boyntons, cause they were from Selma and they did most of their work right here in Selma.

Edmund Pettus was a former Confederate general and U. S. Senator.

He was also a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan.