Photo: Courtesy of www.americaslibrary.gov
Interested in learning some history while getting exercise?
Join the “Selma is Everywhere” march tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., where participants will gather in Manhattan to walk to Brooklyn Borough Hall. The event will end with a viewing of President Obama’s address to the nation at 1 p.m.
However, participants aren’t walking just for the exercise; they will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march. In 1965, the civil rights leader headed this 5-mile, 5-day march in Alabama to campaign for voting rights as a part of a series of protests. After months of disputes, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, helping African Americans overcome legal barriers that prohibited them from voting.
This year’s commemoration will also include some special guests, such as Brooklyn Borough president Eric L. Adams, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, and Manhattan Borough president Gale Brewer.
If you’re interested in joining this event, go to the Manhattan base of the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow morning bundled up and prepared to walk.
by Connie Lee
