Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
SELMA, AL -- Fifty-eight years ago today, future Congressman John Lewis, Reverend Hosea Williams, and civil rights leaders led a peaceful march for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge when state and local police brutally attacked them. Dozens of peaceful protesters were hospitalized. The events of what became known as Bloody Sunday are credited as a turning point in the fight to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Over the weekend, President Biden, Civil Rights leaders, the Sierra Club, and more marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the anniversary.
As of Feb. 2023, state legislatures have introduced at least 150 bills this year that would restrict voting access, and over the past two years, states have enacted hundreds of laws that make it more difficult for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color as well as low-income communities to vote.
Both the House and Senate are expected to reintroduce the Freedom To Vote Act by the end of this month. This transformative bill would expand and protect the public’s access to fair and free elections and reign in corporate polluters’ destructive influence in political decision-making.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous issued the following statement:
“The march across Edmund Pettus Bridge has never ended. It is one each of us must continue to walk every day in the fight for an equitable democracy for all. We will not be able to finally realize our nation’s great destiny until the day when every person in every community and corner of the country accepts we are one American family. American democracy is not a guarantee but rather a collective choice, and we will continue to choose to fight for a country where every person - regardless of race, zip code, or income - has a right to easily cast their ballot and make their voice heard. We join with our allies to call on the House and Senate to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom To Vote Act, and the DISCLOSE Act, and call on President Biden to use the full power of the executive branch to protect and expand the freedom to vote for all Americans.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.