Vice President Kamala Harris to join in marking anniversary of Bloody Sunday on Alabama bridge

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to be among those marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the day Alabama law officers attacked Civil Rights demonstrators on the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

The demonstrators were beaten by officers as they tried to march across Alabama on March 7, 1965, in support of voting rights. A march across the bridge, which is a highlight of the commemoration in Selma every year, is planned for Sunday afternoon.

Sunday’s march is among dozens of events during the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which began Thursday and culminates Sunday. The events commemorate Bloody Sunday and the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

“During her speech, the Vice President will honor the legacy of the civil rights movement, address the ongoing work to achieve justice for all, and encourage Americans to continue the fight for fundamental freedoms that are under attack throughout the country,” the White House said in announcing her visit.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Vice President Harris to mark ‘Bloody Sunday’ anniversary in Selma </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Harris joined the march in 2022, calling the site hallowed ground and giving a speech calling on Congress to defend democracy by protecting people’s right to vote. On that anniversary, Harris spoke of marchers whose “peaceful protest was met with crushing violence.”

“They were kneeling when the state troopers charged,” she said then. “They were praying when