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…
Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Selma on Sunday, Feb. 29, 2020 – (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) is ending her Democratic presidential campaign and is set to endorse Joe Biden. Her campaign says she is flying to Dallas and plans to join Biden at his rally Monday night. The Minnesota senator is the third presidential candidate to drop out…
The 55th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee is underway in Selma. This annual event remembers Bloody Sunday and celebrates civil rights history. Bloody Sunday happened on March 7, 1965. That’s when hundreds of people marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to call for equal voting rights. They were met by dozens of Alabama State Troopers who beat them. That…
The St. James Hotel in Selma has stood since 1837 — decades before the Civil War, through the Civil Rights Movement. While it’s been closed and boarded up for years, there’s an effort underway to save the St. James and this important part of Alabama history. The St. James is known as the crown jewel of Water Avenue, overlooking the…
