Protesters at Edmund Pettus Bridge say voting rights are under attack

[riversedge]

Source: yahoo.com


Sarah Clifton, Sarah D. Wire and Jeanine Santucci,

Updated Sat, May 16, 2026 at 2:45 PM CDT


SELMA, AL ‒ Over 60 years ago, on the March 1965 day dubbed "Bloody Sunday," the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, was filled with a crescendo of shouts, of bludgeoning batons.

Steady footsteps changed from an organized march into chaos as civil rights protesters fled the attacks of police.

But on May 16, 2026, the packed bridge was briefly enveloped in a heavy silence amid a different kind of protest. Pastors with graying beards held their heads high. An older couple dressed in their church best – a blue velvet dress and a sharp black suit – held hands, and the woman dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled, mascara-soaked tissue.


The Supreme Court has allowed its recent ruling limiting a key part of the Voting Rights Act to take effect early, boosting the chances that Republicans can impose a new congressional map in Louisiana before the November election.


The event was part of a protest planned by voting rights advocates, faith leaders and activists from across the nation – the “All Roads Lead to the South” National Day of Action. They hope the protests, including another notable event in Montgomery, Alabama, will be a galvanizing moment as Republican-led southern states rush to draw congressional district boundaries ahead of the midterm elections.

“This is a sad testimony to the state of the United States of America,” said Rosemary McCoy, a protester who came from Jacksonville, Florida, ..............


Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/protesters-edmund-pettus-bridge-voting-194541916.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

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Protesters at Edmund Pettus Bridge say voting rights are under attack

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Southerners march for voting rights in Selma. See photos
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Civil Rights activist Shyann Webb-Christburg, center, takes part in a prayer march during the National Day of Action for Voting Rights - All Roads to Lead to the South event held in Selma, Alabama on Saturday May 16, 2026.