By Tyra Jackson

The Selma Times-Journal

Thousands of people will travel to Selma for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee week this year and when they arrive they’ll find a Jubilee unlike any of its predecessors.

This year’s Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which recognizes the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, was always going to be memorable because of the history, but a jam-packed schedule will keep everyone busy as well.

A newly scheduled luncheon titled “Fruits of the Labor” will celebrate black politicians whose careers would not have come to fruition had it not been for the martyrs of the Voting Rights Movement.

Some of the honorees include Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), former Massachusetts’s Gov. Deval Patrick and the first black mayor of Atlanta, Maynard Jackson, who will be honored posthumously. The event will be on March 7 at 12:30 p.m.

Another new, but powerful event is the “Public Hearings on Poverty: A Renewal of Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign,” in which Al Gore’s daughter Karenna Gore Schiff and a church group from New York will restore the campaign, which was an effort to gain economic justice for those that are less fortunate.

The group will be at Brown Chapel on March 5 at 11 a.m., offering truth hearings on poverty.

“The reason we have so much crime in Selma is because we have too much poverty in Selma,” said founder and volunteer coordinator of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee Rose Sanders. “We are so blessed to co-host with this group out of New York that will hold hearings on poverty.”

Civil rights activist Dick Gregory, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, civil rights strategists Diane Nash and others will lend their wisdom to today’s youth through the “Looking Back to Move Forward: Living Legends Share Their Wisdom About Challenges of Today” event that will be held March 7 at 2:30 p.m. The legends will have a conversation with youth leaders from the Black Lives Matter organization.

Artists Kirk Franklin, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ruben Studdard have all volunteered to perform at the Jubilee, given there is a professional stage set up for the performances.

“These are people who said they want to come Sunday,” Sanders said. “What we have to do is raise the money for the stage.”

The professional stage cost between $70,000 to $80,000 dollars, Sanders said. The Jubilee is in the process of raising the money needed to pay for the stage and it’s equipment. The concert is set to take place after the march on Sunday.

“A full gospel stage and a full blues and hip-hop stage, eight hours of entertainment, along with hearing stories from our foot soldiers,” Sanders said. “You can’t get that anywhere else in the country.”