By Elena Temple
March 24, 2008

Conference of Mayors President Trenton (NJ) Mayor Douglas H. Palmer received a Freedom Flame Award on March 8 from the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma (AL) for his contribution to civil rights in New Jersey and the nation. Specifically, Palmer was bestowed the honor of “Sustainer of the Flame” for his work to keep the flame of freedom burning during his career in public service.

The Freedom Flame Award ceremony is a part of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute’s annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee – a five-day celebration commemorating the historic march from Selma to Montgomery in support of voting rights on March 7, 1965. This march, now known as “Bloody Sunday,” took peaceful marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where they encountered police and state troopers who were intent on halting them with violence.

Every year, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute hosts the Jubilee in commemoration of the struggle for voting rights with gatherings on the Edmond Pettus Bridge. Founded in Selma in 1993, the museum has been dedicated for over a decade to bringing the story of the right to vote as it occurred in Selma to the world. The museum’s exhibits pay homage to many of the foot soldiers of the movement who endured hatred, violence and, in some cases, death in the effort.

The Freedom Flame Award ceremony is the Jubilee’s most stellar event and serves as an annual recognition of individuals who have contributed to the Civil Rights Movement – both past and present. The ceremony is often attended by legends from the movement as well as some of the biggest names in entertainment and politics such as Tony Bennett, Drew Barrymore, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte and President William Jefferson Clinton.

“I am very proud to be a recipient of the Freedom Flame Award. The organizers of the Civil Rights Movement paved the way for me to serve in public office. By extension, I am standing on the shoulders of many whose names we will never know. Selma is where it all began and it should be proud of its unique history. Our responsibility as ‘keepers of the flame’ is to pave the way for those who will come after us,” said Palmer.