Black Alabamians in Selma stiffened their spines and marched resolutely across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 60 years ago today.
The brave foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement knew the risks that lay ahead of them. They marched anyway, propelled by their belief that, in a democracy, all people must be afforded the right to vote.
Five months after Alabama state troopers beat and bloodied them, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most transformative civil rights laws in history. No single event contributed to the passage of this historic law more than the bravery and sacrifice on that cold March day.
On this momentous occasion — the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — we should be able to honor their sacrifice and celebrate the enduring protections their bravery unlocked. Instead, we are fighting for the very life of our democracy.
Hostile forces have invaded our federal government and are gutting it from within under the guise of “efficiency.” The current administration has held up billions of dollars Congress approved for programs and services to be sent to communities, despite court orders to release those funds.
Efforts to prevent certain communities from voting have metastasized from state legislatures to Congress, which will soon vote on the SAVE Act, a draconian anti-voter bill that would upend decades of voter registration modernization and make it harder for millions of eligible voters to register and vote.
If made law, it would be the first federal rollback of voting rights ever.
Many of these actions have already had real impacts on real people. Downed Medicaid portals across the country endanger critical health care services. Dozens of Head Start programs providing child care and preschool education are at risk. Mass layoffs of forest service workers and infectious disease specialists endanger communities, making us all more vulnerable.
The reality is assaults on our democracy are not new. The good news is those of us in a position to stand up for what we believe in — just as those brave foot soldiers did 60 years ago — don’t have to do something that’s never been done. Instead, we can learn from the freedom fighters who came before us.
Their example is clear:
- Join a local organization that is working toward a future you believe in.
- Call on your members of Congress to vote against dangerous bills like the SAVE Act and support bills like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
- Attend town halls when your senators and representatives are in town and ask them what they are doing to defend democracy.
- Engage in mass mobilization — and when necessary, civil disobedience — exercising your First Amendment right to assembly, protesting government actions that defy your values and weaken democracy.
- More than anything, build community with those around you.
At times like these, when forces intent on taking us backward are so emboldened, it can be easy to feel powerless. However, we are not powerless. In a democracy, power comes from the people — as the events of 1965 teach us. Especially on this day, let us find courage in their example and hope from their progress. Let us be worthy of the history books 60 years from now.
Laura Williamson is the senior policy advisor for voting rights and civic engagement at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Image at top: On March 9, 1965, two days after Bloody Sunday, civil rights activists gather on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. (Credit: Flip Schulke/Corbis via Getty Images)
