By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

The city of Selma launched a new website commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Movement earlier this month.

People can visit the site at www.selma50iwasthere.com.

“This has been a crowning, historical year for our city,” said Mayor George Evans. “We are pleased to share with Selma, our state and nation the city’s 50th anniversary website.”

The site has several features for its visitors. Those visiting the site can read about the three marches that lead to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and see historic photos from the Civil Rights Movement.

Visitors will also find a list of events scheduled for the 50th anniversary, along with historical information about Selma’s rich history from 1965. The site also links visitors to a commemorative Facebook page, where people are encouraged to post and share their memories, experiences and photos from being in Selma during the Voting Rights Movements.

“We have received countless telephone calls from people across the country who, in fact, were there in Selma in 1965 and who plan to return in 2015,” Evans said. “It is befitting then that our site have as its official theme, ‘I was there.’”

The city also unveiled two new logos for the 50th anniversary of the movement and the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma.

“The nation returns to Selma to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights March as we remember the sacrifices of so many and the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Evans said. “Then we prepare to remember the historic Battle of Selma and our city’s major role in American Civil War history and the annual re-enactment as well.”