For most people seeing “Selma,” Annie Lee Cooper is one of many historical characters in a film full of them. But the late Cooper was more than a Civil Rights hero in her hometown — she was also family.

Steps away from the Dallas County Courthouse — the spot where Cooper famously punched former Sheriff Jim Clark in 1965 — Oprah Winfrey talked Sunday about portraying the trailblazer during a special screening of “Selma.”

“I did it for her, and I did it for my grandmother. I did it for my aunts. I did it for everyone else’s grandmother and aunts and cousins and friends and sisters who didn’t have a chance to have the kind of life I now get to live,” Winfrey said. “So I did it to say this is where we’ve come as a people and as a country.”

Winfrey, one of the producers of the Academy Award-nominated “Selma,” was among several cast and crewmembers to descend upon the Walton Theater after a full day of events in Selma.

Among those in attendance were John Legend and Common, who just minutes before performed their song “Glory” on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. “Glory” won a Golden Globe last weekend for Best Original Song and was nominated this week for an Academy Award in the same category.

“We’re honored to be here to commemorate the struggle that so many ordinary people went through to make history, to change the course of this country and to make it so everyone had the right to vote,” Legend said. “When I wrote that song, I wrote it trying to celebrate this legacy, trying to pay homage to it but also to inspire those who continue to fight for justice and equality right now.”

Common, who also acted in the film, said the piece reverberates recent events and protests across the country.

“People stood up, fought, believed and prayed for our freedom. Some died for our freedom, and we wanted to honor them in that song,” Common said. “I was also able to say we see what’s going on today — that there’s a lot of injustice going on and people are still losing their lives. We wanted to say we are the ones that can change it now. We are the ones that can change the world. It’s up to us.”

British actor David Oyelowo, who portrays Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie, spoke about the proof of the power of peaceful protest.

“What’s so amazing about what Dr. King did and what the movement did is they ditched the anger and the bitterness,” Oyelowo said. “That’s what nonviolence meant. That’s what love in the face of hate meant, and it was the most effective means to overcome these very real challenges.”

U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, who grew up in Selma and graduated from Selma High School, said she hopes the film brings people to her hometown.

“I’m just proud that Selma has national attention and focus, and I hope we are able to capitalize on that by encouraging people to come to Selma and spend money in Selma and help us with revitalization,” Sewell said.