Bridging Selma

Protest on the Bridge

Apr 26, 2015 | Stories

April 24, – Each year in April, a month after celebrating the voting rights victories achieved in Selma, the town hosts the Battle of Selma Re-enactment festivities. Thousands of people come to town to remember the April 1865 Civil War battle in which Selma’s Confederate Troops were defeated by Union troops. For some, the observance of this part of the town’s Confederate past honors the people who fought against the rights of black people, who now make up the majority of the town’s population. Abayomi Goodall, the director at the Slavery & Civil War Museum, leads a protest against the celebration of confederacy during the 150th Battle of Selma Re-enactment at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Friday, April 24. Photo by Erin Irwin Allen Garner looks on during a demonstration honoring Black soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Photo by Benjamin McKnight III Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders greets Azali Fortier, a young protestor speaking out against the Battle of Selma reenactment on April 24. Photo by Benjamin McKnight III Fayatoure Rose points onlookers and fellow demonstrators in the direction of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Photo by Benjamin McKnight III Doyle MaurerWVU...