By Elena Temple
March 19, 2007

Conference President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer traveled to Selma (AL) March 2-4 to participate in the historic re-enactment of the march from Selma to Montgomery (AL). Palmer, Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran and conference staff, joined civil rights pioneers and national leaders, including Congressman John Lewis (GA), former President William Jefferson Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton (NY), Senator Barack Obama (IL), Reverend Al Sharpton, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) National President Charles Steele, and many, many others to commemorate the events of March 7, 1965, what has come to be known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Throughout the weekend’s events, the historical account was told many times. On that fateful day in 1965, the citizens of Selma gathered with the intention to walk the 54-mile stretch from Selma to Montgomery to meet with the governor of Alabama to demand the right to vote. When the marchers got to the top of the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met by state police who ordered them to retreat. However, before they were given a chance to move, the officers began beating them and throwing tear gas into the crowd. As the protesters ran back to Selma, police followed beating them all the way back to Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church where the march began. Many watched in horror was the entire scene was captured on national television.

Following this episode, march organizers re-grouped and solicited the assistance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC to help them in their effort. Less than two weeks later, and with the help of thousands of people from around the country who went Selma on short-notice, the march was successful. This time, President Lyndon B. Johnson saw to it that they would have the protection of National Guard Troops along the way. Only five months later, the Federal Voting Rights Act was signed into law. In the words of Lewis, “The voting rights legislation was written on the road between Selma and Montgomery.”

Speaking about this year’s commemorative events, Palmer said he felt privileged to be a part of history. At a pre-march rally featuring a host of speakers including Clinton, Obama and Sharpton, Palmer spoke of his mother and said, “It is important that we remember those who went before us and who made it possible for us to be here. It is also critical that we teach our children about our rich history.”

Once the march began and wove its way through the streets of Selma, the crowd grew quickly as passersby joined in. Palmer and the entire front line of marchers sang spirituals reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement. When the group approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Lewis requested silence in honor of those who lost their lives in the struggle; and when the marchers reached the top of the bridge, Lewis asked those that could to kneel in prayer.

One of the weekend’s highlights was the service prior to the march at First Baptist Church where Clinton was the guest speaker. Clinton readily acknowledged that the actions of many of those in the movement – including some in the room – enabled her and many other elected officials, to be able to run for public office.

Also while in Selma, Palmer visited the National Voting Rights Museum and met the museum’s Executive Director JoAnne Bland. He attended a dinner in honor of Lewis, who received the Freedom Flame Award. Additionally, Palmer was pleased to accompany President William Jefferson Clinton at a ceremony inducting the President into The Voting Rights Museum Hall of Fame.