Newsletter: Selma - 50 Years Later

Statement

Dear Friend,

Last weekend, I joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers for a trip to Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of some of the most critical moments in the Civil Rights movement.

Together with a delegation of nearly 100 other members of Congress, we visited civil rights landmarks in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma before joining President Barack Obama to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when state troopers attacked marchers trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge into Alabama's capital. The trip served as a reminder of the painful history that called for and led to the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

In February, I co-sponsored a bill to honor the legacy of the brave individuals who took a stand for equal rights in Alabama against brutality and oppression 50 years ago. This bill, which was recently signed into law, will award a Congressional Gold Medal to the brave Foot Soldiers whose courageous journey from Selma to Montgomery led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

The Congressional Gold medal is a great reminder of the power of ordinary Americans to collectively achieve extraordinary social change. We can never forget those who marched, prayed and died in the pursuit of civil and voting rights in our country.

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