HOUSE PASSES RESOLUTION HONORING HISTORIC SELMA TO MONTGOMERY CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) joined a bipartisan majority of his colleagues in supporting H. Res. 562, a resolution that directs the Office of the Historian to compile oral histories from Members of the U.S. House of Representatives involved in the historic and annual Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, marches, as well as the civil rights movement in general. The collection of oral histories from these events will be used for public dissemination and education. The resolution passed by a 418-0 vote.

On March 7, 1965, during the historic Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March, non-violent marchers were tear-gassed, beaten, and their processional stopped by law enforcement officers as they attempted to cross the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma. This display of violence heaped upon non-violent protesters was captured by the news media and broadcasted worldwide. This event came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Outraged protesters from across the country joined the marchers for a subsequent five-day march that began in Selma on March 21, 1965, this time with state and federal law enforcement protection.

“The 1965 Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March is one of the most seminal and pivotal events in America’s civil rights movement,” said Congressman Sanford Bishop. “Therefore, it is imperative that oral histories from this March and associated events are documented and preserved in our nation’s archives.”