HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Local groups in Huntsville commemorated a turning point in the civil rights movement in Selma, AL known as Bloody Sunday.
It happened fifty seven years ago.
Local nonprofit United Women of Color, state representatives, and other groups in the state stand in solidarity with Selma today.
This event was virtual but just like the main focus of gathering, 57 years ago, in Selma, was voting rights for people of color.
Let's take a look at what some of tonight's speakers said:
Nancy Ward, Deacon, First Baptist Church of Huntsville:
Today, 57 years after the sacrifice made by peaceful marchers on Bloody Sunday, and in spite of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 African American and LatinX voters continue to face challenges at the ballot box. Gerrymandering when redistricting state voting district lines, criminalizing peaceful protests, and other state and local policies that restrict voting rights undermine the free and fair electoral process guaranteed by our Constitution. As American citizens, we all have a responsibility to stay vigilant and informed about the challenges to the fairness and equality of the electoral process that still face us today.
Dr. Julius Scruggs, Pastor, First Missionary Baptist Church:
Our vote is our voice and our voice is our vote and we need to vote every opportunity that we can to seek to elect local officers, state officers, and national officers. We need persons who will stand up for freedom, justice and equality for all people.
Representative Anthony Daniels, D-53:
In Madison County - Joe Biden got 87,000 votes Kay Ivey got 65,000. So in the presidential election, we turn out more than we do the midterms, that's directly related to us in our community. And Madison County, if in fact people of color woke up and decided to vote, every office in Madison County, county wide will be determined by those individuals. That's how you make changes.