Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Selma for Bloody Sunday commemoration

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Alabama this weekend to join Selma's annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday, the White House has announced.

Community members and leaders march across the Edmund Pettus bridge annually to remember the violence that took place there on March 7, 1965. This is the 59th commemoration. Harris last participated in the event in 2022.

"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 a release announcing Harris' appearance.

President Joe Biden attended last year's ceremony and led the march after a speech describing Bloody Sunday as "a reckoning" for voting rights. "No matter how hard some people try, we can’t just choose what we want to know and not what we should know,” Biden said at the time. “Everyone should know the truth of Selma."

The 1965 voting rights march started with a crowd of hundreds, including civil rights icon John Lewis, crossing the bridge to peacefully protest for the right to vote. State troopers met the activists with violence, brutally beating and tear-gassing them in an attempt to stop the march. The day became known as Bloody Sunday, and as it was broadcast on national television, it shocked the nation and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, a Selma native, welcomed Harris' announcement Tuesday.

“At a time when our fundamental freedoms have come under renewed threat, we are grateful to have a President and Vice President who have remained steadfast in their commitment to the cause for which the Foot Soldiers marched, fought, and even died,” Sewell said. “I am looking forward to welcoming Vice President Harris back to my hometown for a day of remembrance, reflection, and rededication.”

Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush attended the anniversary event in the past, along with other notable figures like former First Lady Michelle Obama, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Last year's march came weeks after a massive tornado tore through Selma on Jan. 12, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. A year later, the city is still working to rebuild.

Separately, Harris this week was announced as a guest at a Biden campaign event Sunday in Birmingham.

In 2022, at the first anniversary event celebrated in-person since the COVID pandemic began, Harris spoke before leading the march alongside the families of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Kamala Harris to lead annual Selma Bloody Sunday bridge crossing