Alabama city to re-enact march that sparked “Bloody Sunday”

SELMA, Ala. — Thousands of people are expected to converge in the city of Selma, Alabama for the annual re-enactment of a key event in the civil rights movement.

Sunday marks the 52nd anniversary of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River in Selma. On March 7, 1965, African-Americans seeking voting rights launched a march across the bridge en route to Montgomery but were attacked by police. That violent episode became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

The march is credited with helping build momentum for passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This year’s march re-enactment was planned despite a dispute over city fees that forced organizers to change plans for a festival-like event leading up to the bridge-crossing commemoration.