Youth March Held in Selma, Alabama on 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

SELMA, ALABAMA (WENY) -- Sixty years ago on March 7, 1965, peaceful voting rights marchers were met by a mob when crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The clash was broadcast across the country, and was dubbed "Bloody Sunday."

On March 7, 2025, hundreds of children made that same march across the bridge, in honor of those who walked into the face of danger to fight for their right to vote. The Youth March for Freedom was held in Selma as part of Jubilee events commemorating the anniversary.

"Welcome to the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Welcome to Selma, Alabama!" an organizer yelled through a bullhorn before the march began. "In 1965, there were 525 of our people who were marching across the bridge, for the right to vote. And they were ambushed. They were ambushed by state troopers, they were beaten, tear gassed, and left for dead," she exclaimed.

March 7 is a day of remembrance in Selma. It was that date in 1965 when hundreds of voting rights marchers, including the late John Lewis, walked across the Edmund Pettus bridge, knowing that violence waited for them on the other side. On March 7, 2025 hundreds of children walked across the bridge, celebrating the brave men and women who came 60 years before them.

Among them was Shaniya Davidson, who made the trip with classmates from Pine Hill, Alabama. 

"I'll be thinking about how they feel in the moment, what was their emotions and feelings, was they scared when they were walking across it, they didn't seem to be scared at all, I'm going to be thinking exactly how they felt in, especially walking across the bridge," Davidson said. 

For those who lived through the era of segregation and witnessed the Civil Rights movement firsthand, the memories haven't faded. Cheryl White is visiting Selma for the Jubilee; and says the memories of how Black people were treated at the time have not faded. 

"I was raised in Birmingham Alabama. I graduated in 1962 when everything was still segregated, the dogs were in the streets, the water hoses, and I think I have just felt guilty and remorseful about how awful those things were all the time ever since," she said. 

Cheryl came to Selma with her two friends; the three of them are honoring those who put their lives on the line for change. 

"You can't forget these things. I think it's so important that we remember the history that this country has gone through, and we just can't let that be erased," White said.

On Sunday, a historic anniversary march will be held across the Edmund Pettus bridge, as the keynote event of the Selma Jubilee.