[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 47 (Friday, March 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING 56TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 8, 2021

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay honor to the legacy of 
our late colleague, and my dear friend, Congressman John Lewis. This 
year marks the 56th Anniversary of the Bloody Sunday March in Selma, 
Alabama, over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It is vital that we pay homage 
to Congressman Lewis and to the hundreds of individuals who marched 
beside him to protect the voices of the many, as well as to remember 
the history, legacy, and increasing importance of the infamous Bloody 
Sunday March.
  On March 7, 1965, about six-hundred peaceful protesters, including a 
25-year-old John Lewis, were violently attacked by Alabama State 
troopers while attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge to begin 
the peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery. The ongoing Civil Rights 
Movement led nonviolent demonstrators to the bridge that Sunday with 
the risk of being met with opposition from law enforcement--but the 
outcome was much worse. Protesters were tear-gassed, clubbed, spat on, 
whipped, trampled by horses, and ultimately degraded by the police. The 
abhorrent attacks, which were seen on television and in newspapers, 
shocked the nation.
  The events of that day mobilized Congress to pass the bipartisan 
Voting Rights Act of 1965--outlawing discriminatory voting laws which 
silenced the voices of Black Americans. Fifty-six years later, we 
celebrate the ``good trouble'' Congressman Lewis created that Sunday, 
and the decades to follow, embarking our nation down a path toward a 
more perfect union. Bloody Sunday is a dark moment in our country's 
history, but it should not be left in the past. The increasing 
importance of memorializing that day draws on the impact it made on our 
citizens as well as our legislative body. This Congress should continue 
to implement the principles of our late colleague and uphold his 
legacy.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so privileged to join the Congressional Black 
Caucus in its First Annual John Lewis Special Order Hour. Please join 
me in commemorating his leadership and bravery on the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge fifty-six years ago. May he Rest in Power, a well-earned peace, 
and may his memory be a blessing to all of us who loved him.

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