ICYMI: Vice President Harris Commemorates Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and Calls for Federal Voting Rights Legislation

Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks on the need for federal voting rights legislation during a speech in Selma, Alabama commemorating the 57th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The Vice President and the Second Gentleman also marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They were joined by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, as well as civil rights, voting rights, and social justice, political, and labor leaders.

Read about this historic visit below:

CNN: Harris calls for voting rights legislation before walking across Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday anniversary
[Maegan Vazquez, 3/6/2022]

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday called on Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation before walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a key moment in the civil rights moment. […]

The vice president said she and President Joe Biden "have put the full power of the executive branch behind our shared effort" while criticizing Republican lawmakers for voting to block passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

Associated Press: Kamala Harris marks 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
[Kim Chandler, 3/6/2022]

Under a blazing blue sky, Harris linked arms with rank-and-file activists from the civil rights movement and led thousands across the bridge where, on March 7, 1965, white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross. […]

Harris called the site hallowed ground where people fought for the "most fundamental right of America citizenship: the right to vote."

Axios: Harris says "we will march on" as she commemorates "Bloody Sunday" in Selma
[Ivana Saric, 3/6/2022]

Harris— the nation's first Black female vice president— returned to where demonstrators in 1965 marched to demand an end to discrimination in the voting process to extol the current need to safeguard voting rights.

"Today, we stand on this bridge at a different time," Harris told those gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. "We again, however, find ourselves caught in between. Between injustice and justice. Between disappointment and determination. Still in a fight to form a more perfect union. And nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to the ongoing fight to secure the freedom to vote."

Essence: Kamala Harris Flexes Vice Presidential Status in Selma, Ala.
[Kevin Clark, 3/7/2022]

The push for passing the federal voting rights legislation can honor the legacy of those who marched, according to VP Harris, and would "lift up state legislatures that have passed pro-voter laws and that we keep fighting to prevent the passage of the anti-voter laws."

"It demands we keep going to court to defend this sacred freedom, and it demands we register voters, volunteer as election workers and yes, of course, drive souls to the polls," the vice president added.

The Hill: Harris in Selma: 'We will not let setbacks stop us'
[Monique Beals, 3/6/2022]

Vice President Kamala Harris promised to push ahead with the Biden administration's voting rights agenda despite recent setbacks during her remarks in Selma, Ala. on Sunday commemorating the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday."

"In a moment of great uncertainty, those marchers pressed forward and they crossed," Harris said on Sunday of the civil rights activists who in 1965 crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and were beaten and tear gassed.

"We must do the same. We must lock our arms and march forward," she added. "We will not let setbacks stop us."

Montgomery Advertiser: 'Time to march': Hundreds gather in Selma to commemorate 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday
[Hadley Hitson, 3/6/2022]

Under blue skies and in sweltering heat, a crowd of hundreds marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday afternoon to honor the men and women who walked that same path 57 years earlier.

Vice President Kamala Harris and the families of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis led the pack. […]

Harris pointed to the record voter turnout in the 2020 election and said, "Some saw it as a threat." She noted that both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act failed in the U.S. Senate last year.

"I am here in Selma to say, thank you for your work, your sacrifice and your dedication," Harris said. "And I have come here today to also remind you that we all stand together."

WSFA News: VP Harris visits Selma for 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary
[Erin Davis, 3/6/2022]

Harris and other leaders said they could feel the spirit of the late Congressman John Lewis in the air. Especially as everyone crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, symbolizing Black Americans' right to vote and the push for more voter equality. That was the main focus of the vice president's speech. […]

"Selma, the future of our democracy is being decided now. By you, by us, by the people, and ultimately, you are the ones who must protect the freedom to vote," Harris said.

The vice president said her fight for better access to the polls isn't over.

This isn't Harris' first time being part of the annual Selma event. She delivered remarks virtually to Brown Chapel AME Church last year. She also visited Selma in 2018 for the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. She was a U.S. senator at the time.

WVTM 13: WATCH: VP Kamala Harris speaks at 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
[Phil Pinarski, 3/6/2022]

Vice President Kamala Harris and numerous civil rights, voting rights, social justice, political and labor leaders were in Selma, Alabama on Sunday commemorating the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" and the crossing of Edmund Pettus Bridge. […]

"Freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted," Harris said.

In her closing remarks, Harris remembered the late John Lewis and his lifelong fight for civil rights and racial equality.

"We will keep shouting, we will keep making good trouble and we will march on until victory is won," she said.

Fox 5 New York: Kamala Harris marking 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma
[Megan Ziegler, 3/6/2022]

Sunday marks the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the day in 1965 when white police attacked Black voting rights marchers.

Thousands are gathering for this year's reenactment of the Edmund Pettus Bridge crossing to honor the foot soldiers. Downtown will resemble a huge street festival during the event, known as the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, with thousands of visitors, blaring music and vendors selling food and T-shirts. […]

Harris will also take part in the symbolic march across the bridge, which, named for a Confederate general and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader, has become an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement. Harris is the first female U.S. vice president and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent in the role.

CBS Evening News: Evening News Clip
Vice President Harris visited Selma, Alabama Sunday to mark 57 years since state troopers beat hundreds of people marching peacefully for voting rights — a turning point in the history of the civil rights movement.