By Staci Jones | The Selma Times-Journal

The NAACP is planning an 860-mile march next month from Selma to Washington, D.C.

America’s Journey for Justice will begin on Aug. 1, 2015, and end on Sept. 15.

Pastor Charles Dale, who is the coordinator for the state of Alabama, said that the name of the march in itself describes the purpose.

“We call it America’s Journey for Justice because out of all of the years we’ve been in the struggle for equal rights, this is no longer just the NAACP or other civil rights groups working towards the end. Now is the time for all of America to join the fight and understand the struggle we have faced for so many years,” Dale said.

The march will start in Selma and end in Washington, D.C. Pastor Lawrence Wofford, the coordinator for the kickoff, feels there is no place more appropriate to start the march than Selma.

“We’re all aware of Selma’s historic role in civil rights. The march will start here because of what happened on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in March 1965,” Wofford said.

The marches will go from Alabama, to Georgia, to South Carolina, to North Carolina, to Virginia and then to the Capitol in D.C. Throughout the period of the march, there will be rally stops on the way for others who want to participate in the movement but can’t march the entire way.

On Aug. 3, there will be a rally in Montgomery for economic equality. On Aug. 13, the rally will take place in Atlanta for education. There will be a rally in Greenville, S.C. on criminal justice on Aug. 20. On Aug. 28, the rally for voting rights will be in Charlotte. The final rally and lobby day will be at the Capitol on Sept. 15.

“It’s important in light of everything that’s happening in our nation, not just the massacre at Charleston — but everything that has happened before it,” Wofford said. “We have to get America to embrace its promise … equal justice under the law has yet to be fulfilled. It’s time to make sure we do all that we can to ensure that the promises in the constitution are fulfilled.”

The NAACP welcomes all to participate and states that membership is not required.

“We want participation from all people. Anybody who wants to be a part of this movement is welcome,” said Dale.

Information on registration and how to volunteer and participate in the movement will be issued in coming days. For further information, contact Dale at (246) 436-7713 or Wofford at (334) 327-9761.