Rep. Val Demings to participate in civil rights pilgrimage this weekend

This month marks fifty-three years since the voting rights movement met billy clubs and tear gas on Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Rep. Val Demings

‘Bloody Sunday’ kick-started the nonviolent fight for justice and equality. Each year, U.S. Representative John Lewis leads a trip to commemorate and acknowledge the individuals who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for equality. This March 2nd through 5th, Rep. Demings will join Rep. Lewis on his pilgrimage.

The trip will include a visit to Memphis, Tennessee to commemorate 50 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Members of Congress will also visit Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma, Alabama.

Members will visit the Lorraine Motel—now known as the National Civil Rights Museum—and the Mason Temple, the venue of Dr. King’s famed ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop’ speech. Other stops include Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, and Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Said Rep. Demings: “We can never forget the men and women who led the struggle for equality, and through that memory, continue to fight against the injustices that continue to haunt us today.

“As a member of Congress, I stand on the shoulders of giants. And as I walk across Edmund Pettus Bridge with John Lewis, I will be walking with a legend. As we walk, I will draw inspiration from my companions and my predecessors. To speak out for justice is a moral obligation. Until we are all free, none of us are free.”