Marchers set off for Montgomery
Published 10:12 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2015
About 100 people left Selma on Monday morning, bound for Montgomery. Marchers this year will retrace the full 54 miles to the Alabama State Capitol that original foot soldiers walked in 1965. Below, Allyson Caison, a native of Selma, North Carolina holds a sign during Monday’s march.
By Alaina Denean | The Selma Times-Journal
Around 100 marches began the 54-mile journey Monday from Selma to Montgomery as they set out to honor those that made the same voyage 50 years ago.
Celebrating wasn’t their only mission when taking those first steps.
“No. 1, I want to honor the people who did this 50 years ago for voting rights and for civil rights,” said Anne Paquet-Howard, a participant from Michigan. “No. 2, I want to remind myself and others that we still need voting rights in America.
Participating in the march means so much to Paquet-Howard, who said everyone should learn their history and remember what people sacrificed for the right to vote.
“It’s just a spiritual feeling to come here. I really take our American history seriously so it’s very meaningful [to participate in the march],” she said. “I know that there was a lot of dignitaries on Saturday and Sunday, but to see the grass roots people here and to actually walk this bridge that I’ve studied … is very meaningful.”
Gordon Larson, a marcher from Washington, said participating in the march to Montgomery and retracing the steps of the brave foot soldiers means everything to him.
“It just means everything [to march]. It’s meant everything to this country and we just can’t forget it,” Larson said. “We have a long ways to go.”
Fred D. Taylor had tears in his eyes as he walked over the Edmund Pettus Bridge Monday. It was an all too familiar sight to one of the original foot soldiers who said making the trip this time is about remembering those that had done it before, but it was more about pushing forward and marching for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act.
“But we’re here today to not only celebrate, but to try to save what was accomplished with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” Taylor said.
The march from Selma to Montgomery is recreated every five years, and Ray Hearne of North Carolina has participated in the commemoration march before. But this year means more to her than ever.
““Everyone should have the right to vote without all these obstacles. My hope is that we will come to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every human being,” Taylor said.
