By Justin Averette

The Selma Times-Journal

Every step of the 54 miles between Selma and Montgomery will be relived next month as people from all over the world commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

A full march will begin Sunday, March 8 and will conclude Friday, March 13 with an 11 a.m. event on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol.

“We are reenacting the full 54-mile march this year,” said Charles Steele, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates the events of Bloody Sunday, when Alabama State Troopers and sheriff’s deputies attacked peaceful protestors on March 7, 1965.

Two weeks later and with National Guard protection, the marchers resumed their mission and rallied at the capitol.

“It is so important to reenact the full march this year on the 50th anniversary,” said State Sen. Hank Sanders, who represents Selma.

Steele and Sanders announced plans for the march Friday during a press conference in Montgomery. They were joined by SCLC Board Chairman the Rev. Bernard Lafayette.

“This is not just a march in commemoration, but it is also a march in recommitment to voting rights. We expect this to be the biggest march that we have ever had,” Lafayette said.

The National Voting Rights Museum, the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, SOS (Save OurSelves Movement for Justice and Democracy and other groups will help the SCLC sponsor the march.

Sanders and Alabama Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) will serve as co-chairs.

“The Selma to Montgomery march started in Selma, but it ended in Montgomery with tens of thousands gathering in front of the [Alabama] State Capitol,” Holmes said. “This march will be ending in Montgomery again, and we invite people to participate in mass just as they did 50 years ago. We are still fighting for voting rights.”

The two legislators said the march is needed today to raise awareness to voting rights issues.

Sanders described voter photo identification laws as a “modern day poll tax” and proof of citizenship to register as a “modern day literacy test.” He also addressed the Shelby County v. Holder case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled parts of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional because data used to determine what states and governments must have federal approval before changing any election laws or procedures was deemed outdated.

“The right to vote is being challenged at every turn,” Sanders said.

Ninety-five members of the U.S. Congress, a record number, are expected to visit Selma over March 7-8 with the Faith and Politics Institute. The group includes the largest number of Republicans to ever make the pilgrimage, which started in 1998.

“It is good that a large delegation of members of Congress are coming to Selma this year,” Steele said. “We hope that this will inspire each of them to be fully committed to restoring the Voting Rights Act in full.”