As an original foot soldier, Mae Christian returns to the Edmund Pettus Bridge every year to remember 'Bloody Sunday.'
SELMA, Ala. - Mae Christian is from Miami, Florida, and has traveled over 700 miles to be in Selma for this weekend’s bridge crossing – a journey she has made several times before.Christian is an original foot soldier, meaning she was an activist who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on “Bloody Sunday” almost 60 years ago. She returns to the bridge every year to remember it.
It was March 7, 1965 when peaceful protestors, wanting voting rights, originally tried to cross the bridge. In their attempt, they were violently beaten by law enforcement. “We done ran from dogs, horses, billy clubs,” Christian said. “We done been disrespected. I had no idea that that march would be indicated as the civil rights movement.”
That march sparked national outrage and later led to passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.“I got involved because my grandfather was the grand master of the town, and he suggested that I come to the march,” she said.“The youth are not acknowledged,” Christian said. “It was the babies that came out here and started this movement. Nobody’s giving them credit.”“We’re still here,” Christian said. “We’re still marching.”Copyright 2023 WSFA. All rights reserved.
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