[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 36 (Friday, March 12, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COMMEMORATING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2010

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the 45th 
anniversary of the ``Bloody Sunday'' massacre, the first of three 
attempted nonviolent marches from Selma to the State Capitol Building 
of Alabama. It played a tremendous role in shedding light on the evils 
of segregation and prejudice that pervaded the United States. I was 
there, marching from Selma to Montgomery, on March 7, 1965. Among 600 
fellow protesters, we famously marched in support of an audacious 
dream--a march broken up by armed state troopers who brutally assaulted 
participants, including my dear friend and colleague Representative 
John Lewis, who was beaten unconscious and nearly left for dead.
  The peaceful demonstrators intended to raise awareness of the brutal 
murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama State Trooper during a 
nonviolent demonstration supporting the Voting Rights Act. It only took 
six blocks into the march before protesters encountered a wall of state 
troopers. As the protesters attempted to pass, they were nefariously 
and unnecessarily attacked by nightsticks, fired at with tear gas, and 
charged at by troopers on horseback. Because of the vicious violence 
that ensued against the nonviolent protesters attempting to exercise 
their First Amendment right to freedom of speech, the event became 
known as ``Bloody Sunday.''
  Images of the vicious massacre were broadcasted throughout the world, 
including that of the recently widowed Amelia Boynton, a Selma-native 
who played an integral role in the planning of the marches. ``Bloody 
Sunday'' served as veritable evidence of the terrorism against Blacks 
ingrained in the segregationist movement of the South. The succeeding 
events played a paramount role in the passage of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 and raising awareness of the saddening state of racism in this 
nation.

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