Selma Beckons Us, Once More
I was in Selma, AL, this past Sunday for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Now that the event has passed, the question that nags at me is this: Will the significance of Selma continue to hold our imagination, or will it subside back into our distant memory until another year passes?
While there I marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, prayed with congressional members and local residents at the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, and attended the Alabama NAACP Gala. I shared time with many good friends and colleagues I’ve gotten to know in Selma over the years.
Selma holds an iconic place in American history. Bloody Sunday was pivotal in spurring enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Every year since then, Americans from all walks of life make pilgrimages to the Queen City to re-enact the march. We commemorate—indeed celebrate—the progress that has been made.
The story of Selma reflects the story of America. People identified a challenge and they stood up and got in motion. Along the way they got knocked down, but they got back up and courageously kept going.
Selma is a story about the human spirit. It is about the American spirit that resides in each of us.
In 1965, the march from Selma to Montgomery—and the horrid and heroic scenes that took place that day—helped spark something deep and visceral within us as Americans. The march was a catalyst for another chapter of American redemption and renewal. It beckoned us to tap into the better angels of our nature—amid division and bigotry and despair.
We face another pivotal moment in the country today. No matter who you voted for in the last presidential election, a sense of uncertainty and confusion now grips our nation. I would argue that we face a “crisis of belief,” which has been on the rise for decades. There’s a mistrust of almost every political and civic institution that shapes our lives. Fragmentation and division plagues our communities and society at large. Too many of us fear those we don’t know; for some of us, we can’t even speak about politics to those we do know, including family members.
Today, we must find ways to come together and forge a common path forward by building together. This must happen brick by brick, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community. It’s why I’m so determined to double down on our campaign from last year by launching The New Civic Path campaign on June 1st.
Selma once again serves as an icon for what we must do in our nation. During my visits to Selma, I have seen a local community beset by persistent poverty, crumbling infrastructure, empty storefronts, and dilapidated houses. And yet, I also am witness to a slow and nascent rebuilding—of new homes, new small businesses, new schools and playgrounds…and yes, a rebuilding of people’s lives. There is a “Selma Spirit” that may have waned at times over these past 60 years, but the spirit still glows.
Every time I see the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I think of our nation’s history. But even more, I think of our future. Of how we must come together to march over the Bridge again today—to bring redemption and renewal to our shared lives and this nation. Not as Republicans or Democrats or Independents or disaffected voters—but as Americans.
Selma beckons us again. She asks us to honor and learn from our history. And she calls us to lift up our common spirit and shape our common future—one that is for all us, not just some of us.
