When the name of the Edmund Pettus Bridge is changed to the John Lewis Bridge, please know it’s what you did in the last week, it’s what you did today that made it possible. "In so many ways, John's life was exceptional. During the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery march, there was a movement to change the name. Edmund Pettus Bridge should be the John Lewis Bridge. But as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met by Alabama state troopers and deputized civilians who were armed with billy clubs, tear gas, and cattle prods and attacked the marchers and drove them back to Brown Chapel Church.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. While I understand and respect the movement to rename the bridge in Selma in his honor, I also believe it to be counterproductive. This is not the first time there has been a wave of support to change the name of the bridge. The next time we will have a harvest moon in October is the year 2028. It never made it out of a House committee for a vote, so it died at the end of the legislative session. The bridge, which was the scene of the Bloody Sunday civil rights march, is named after Edmund Pettus, a former soldier in the Confederate Army who also served as a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan. ... 110K sign petition to rename Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of ‘Bloody Sunday’ ... “Changing the name of that bridge won’t change hearts. At this point, we need to change hearts. pic.twitter.com/gg6n1CyJls. Ivey tweets after Trumps’ coronavirus diagnoses, Joe Biden: ‘We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family’, World markets, oil prices sink after Trump tests positive for virus, Stock futures fall on Trump’s announcement of positive COVID-19 test, Live blog: Trump has ‘mild symptoms’ from coronavirus; Biden tests negative, Read the full statement: Presidential doctor comments on Donald Trump’s positive COVID test, Central AL Forecast: Cool end to the week, weekend warm-up coming, President Trump, first lady Melania Trump test positive for coronavirus, Alabama’s only passenger train service, Amtrak, cuts long-distance rides with revenue down over 80%. The name Edmund Pettus is far from what the city of Selma should honor. Fifty years ago, the Voting Rights Movement marched through Selma and over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Ava DuVernay, director of the 2014 film Selma which documented the civil rights marches led by Lewis, Martin Luther King and others, was one of the high-profile figures to show support for the name change. His district includes much of north Atlanta. I thought I was going to die. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, signed into law. An online petition created last month to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge after Mr. Lewis has garnered over 400,000 signatures, including that of … Please try again. An online petition started last week calls for renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights activist from Alabama … But he never believed that what he did was more than any citizen of this country might do. Edmund Pettus was an officer in the Confederate Army. Sewell also opposed the effort to rename the bridge in 2015. He dedicated his life to serving his community and advocating for others, during some of the most difficult times in our nation's history," Ivey in a statement.
Lewis, who died on July 17 at the age of 80, had his skull fractured by police during the first of the marches in Selma in 1965. Temperatures will range from the mid and upper 70s on Monday to the low 80s by Wednesday. We were unable to post your comment. Lewis was born the son of sharecroppers on Feb. 21, 1940, outside Troy. Alisha Johnson started this petition to Public Congressman John Lewis stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Selma, Ala., during the annual commemoration of "Bloody Sunday," the day in 1965 when voting rights protesters were attacked by police as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. All rights reserved (About Us). Join this call. The bridge is an iconic symbol of the struggle for voting rights in America, and its name is as significant as its imposing structure. Brenda Jones, communications director for Lewis, said Lewis did not have any immediate comment on the effort. It will not shine blue, sorry to disappoint.
At the end of October, and on Halloween nonetheless, we will have our second full moon of the month. Nearly 1 million rabies vaccine baits to be dropped in Alabama, Man charged with rape after 13-year-old girl taken from Nashville Walmart, Gun and ammo shortage looms as hunting season approaches, Nurse to Tuskegee Airmen dies in Georgia at 100, Bryant-Denny stadium renovation work unveiled, UPDATE: I-59 northbound lanes remain closed until further notice due to overturned 18-wheeler, Memphis rapper ‘Big 30’ arrested in Brookside on Felony drug charges. Televised footage of the violence taking place on the bridge helped push the civil rights movement, eventually paving way for the Voting Rights Act to be passed into law later that year. Expect a cool morning for Saturday with lows in the low and mid 40s, but highs will rebound back into the low 70s tomorrow afternoon. A change has come to America! Full moons occur ever 28 days, thus, we generally only have one full a month. Central AL Forecast: Cool, Crisp night. Named for a hero. That depends on historical perspective when it comes to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. "As we wipe away this country's long stain of bigotry, we must also wipe away the names of men like Edmund Pettus.". Four days after the Georgia representative died, the number of people to have signed the petition reached more than half a million. The current petition is not the first effort to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which bears the name of a former Confederate brigadier general, U.S. senator and Democratic Party leader who became a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan in 1887, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. Let’s change the image of the bridge from hatred and rename it to memorialize hope and progress. "We will forever remember his heroism and his enduring legacy.". When this happens, the second full moon gets the name "Blue Moon". Carl Bowline says changing the name of the bridge would be like rewriting history. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Please sign our petition calling on Selma and Alabama leaders and the National Park Service to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Petition to Rename Alabama Bridge Honoring KKK Leader After John Lewis Hits 500,000 Signatures | U.S. Congressional Black Caucus Chair to Trump: Don't React to John Lewis' Death, John Lewis speaks to the crowd at the Edmund.
© 1998 - 2020 Nexstar Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The Harvest Moon is the first full moon after the Autumnal Equinox. Today we ask you to help keep Change.org free and independent. I thought I saw death. This generally takes place in September, but this year, October 1st. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — An online petition has been started with the aim of renaming the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma after civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis. Please make a contribution, of any amount you can afford, to the John Lewis Bridge Project. Our job as a public benefit company is to help petitions like this one fight back and get heard.
The marches across the bridge led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and today the bridge is a symbol of nonviolent victory for change! Property of America, hope to join in with the Selma community, to start a new beginning by renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge! Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. We cannot become weary. Changing the name of the bridge would change the course of history and compromise the historical integrity of the voting rights movement. "Edmund Pettus was a bitter racist, undeserving of the honor bestowed upon him," Hopkins writes on the change.org description page. The petition now has more than 113,000 signatures. We need to continue to raise awareness and spread the word, to tell the story about what happened on that bridge and why John Lewis deserves to have his name on it, not a Klan member. No matter the temperatures, sunshine and dry weather rules the forecast through next week. In just a few days, almost 250,000 people have signed our petition to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge after civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis.