People in Selma are saying their goodbyes to civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis. A memorial service was held tonight at Brown Chapel AME Church, one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement. While the public wasn’t allowed inside due to social distancing requirements, many watched live coverage on television. Selma Mayor Darrio Melton provided a welcome to…
John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in Selma in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died on Friday, July 17. He was 80. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him “one of the greatest heroes of American history.”…
Growing calls nationally to honor the memory of Rep. John Lewis by putting his name on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where he and other voting rights demonstrators were beaten 55 years ago are being met with some resistance in the city. Some say renaming the bridge for the Georgia congressman would dishonor local activists who spent years advocating…
Alabama News Network has spoken to Rosa Tyner, the youngest sister of U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), who died Friday at the age of 80. Lewis, who was a native of Troy, was severely beaten on Bloody Sunday in Selma in 1965 and leaves a legacy of fighting for civil rights. “I prayed to God for him to spare him,…
John Lewis of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee is put on the ground by Alabama State troopers while Hosea Williams runs as state troopers break up civil rights voting march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama. (AP Photo) John Lewis saw the line of Alabama state troopers a few hundred yards away as he led hundreds of marchers to…
Source: City of Selma Selma Mayor Darrio Melton has issued an executive order requiring face masks to be worn in public. The order will take effect on Saturday, June 27, at 5 p.m. until further notice. The details of the order are similar to those issued by Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed last week. People in Selma over the age of…
Source: City of Selma Selma Mayor Darrio Melton says he’s asking city council members to join him in acknowledging Friday, June 19, as a holiday in the city of Selma. He says he hopes city council will make it a holiday for city employees. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when…
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) says she supports renaming the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. It was named for Pettus, a former U.S. Senator from Alabama who was also a Confederate Army officer and a Ku Klux Klan leader. The bridge was the site of the pivotal Bloody Sunday civil rights struggle of 1965, which has international significance in…
The Rural Health Medical Program in Selma will be receiving a CARES Act grant of $719,960. The announcement was made by Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Alabama). The money is part of $4,227,190 in funding for community health centers in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District as part of the funding allocated by the CARES Act. The CARES Act, Congress’ third COVID-19 response bill,…
Source: City of Selma Selma Mayor Darrio Melton has released the following statement regarding the coronavirus: In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, President Donald Trump has issued a National State of Emergency and Governor Kay Ivey has issued a State of Emergency for Alabama. Taking proactive and preventative measures to protect residents, the City of Selma is: – Suspending…
