60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act celebrated in Selma
People in Selma are kicking off a week-long celebration commemorating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965.
Yesterday, dozens of people filled the pews at Selma’s First Baptist Church to hear Congresswoman Terri Sewell talk about this crucial step in the Civil Rights Movement, which led to an increase in voter registration for people of color following the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery earlier in 1965.
“What we cannot do is give up,” Sewell said. “If we have realized anything from John Lewis and those foot soldiers, just think of where we would be if they were discouraged after Bloody Sunday, if they gave up after Bloody Sunday. They did not. They marched on. We got the passage of the Voting Rights Act and it is clearly one of the most seminal pieces of legislation that Congress ever passed is the Voting Rights Act.”
The “Fight for the Vote” celebration will continue Wednesday at 4pm… at the Civil Rights Memorial Park in Selma.
