Marches across 2 NYC bridges will mark 60 years since Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
It's been 60 years since Bloody Sunday, when a peaceful civil rights march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama turned violent as police attacked demonstrators.
Advocates in New York City have organized two marches to mark the occasion in what they say is a call for unity.
The first march will take place at 9 a.m. Sunday on the Mario Cuomo Bridge, and the second will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on the Brooklyn Bridge.
March will honor Bloody Sunday, today's challenges
What happened in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 changed our country. The brutal images on television could be seen, heard and felt.
One of the millions of Americans infuriated but motivated by the images in the years that followed was civil rights attorney and advocate Norman Siegel.
"So why not, in support and solidarity with the people in Selma, why don't we in New York march over the Brooklyn Bridge?" Siegel said. "I think I've learned over the 55 years that I've been a civil rights lawyer, that images are very important and that having those visuals for people who are watching their TV on Channel 2, et cetera on the weekend can have a very positive impact."
Siegel says Sunday's visuals won't just be inspired by those in Selma 60 years ago, but also by the challenges so many face today.
"The last 60 years, America opened its doors to include people who were excluded in the past. Now, that's all up for grabs," he said.