THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Selma is preparing to take its place on the national stage later this week as preparations are being made for the arrival of two Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., have both confirmed and plan to be in Selma in celebration of the 13th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

Sponsored by the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute, the Jubilee celebrates the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the 42nd anniversary of &8220;Bloody Sunday.&8221;

The annual event attracts thousand visitors to Selma over the three-day weekend, and has the national media will have its focus on the Black Belt in an early political season that features the wife of a popular former president and a young African American from Illinois.

On Sunday, Clinton is scheduled to appear First Baptist Church. Obama is scheduled to speak at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church. A Unity Breakfast is scheduled at Wallace Community College Selma at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

According to an event schedule released by the Voting Rights Museum, the Rev. James Orange will serve as the keynote speaker during a Mass Meeting on Thursday at Tabernacle Baptist Church. A reception honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is set for Friday at the Dallas County Courthouse.

The Museum will honor Congressman John Lewis, D-Ga., Amelia Boynton Robinson, and Congressman Keith Ellison, D-Minn., during the Freedom Flame Awards Banquet set for Saturday at the Elks Club on Water Avenue.

Jennifer Holiday of Dreamgirls will perform during the awards ceremony.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is scheduled to speak at Tabernacle Baptist Church on Sunday.

The Rev.Al Sharpton is set for Second Baptist Church. A pre-march rally is scheduled for Brown Chapel at 1:30 p.m., followed by a march re-enactment across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge.