Oprah, John Legend and Common join other stars in Selma
Published 3:00 pm Sunday, January 18, 2015
Final preparations are being made for Sunday’s march and concert with the stars and crew of “Selma.”
Cast and crew members of the film “Selma” will be in town to honor King by marching over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Among those known to be coming are the film’s executive producer Oprah Winfrey, director Ava DuVernay and stars David Oyelowo and Common.
Preparations could be seen near the Edmund Pettus Bridge Saturday, where a brief concert will be held following Sunday’s march.
“It’s a big day for Selma, another national and historic day for our city,” said Selma Mayor George Evans. “As far as I know, all the preparation has been going very well.”
Some stars have already tweeted about the event:
Happy Super Soul Sunday every 1. We’re in Selma celebrating @SelmaMovie . How cool is that!
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 18, 2015
In Selma, Alabama. Meet at City Hall at 4pm and March with us #Glory #MarchOn http://t.co/HybonYme0g
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 18, 2015
I’m in Selma, Alabama. Meet me at City Hall at 4pm and March with us #Glory #MarchOn
— COMMON (@common) January 18, 2015
Sunday’s schedule will be full of events.
The two center lanes of the Edmund Pettus Bridge will be closed Sunday at 10 a.m. for a production company to build a stage, which will be used for the concert later in the day. The other two lanes will be closed at 4 p.m., so the group can make final preparations for the performance.
There will be a prayer vigil Sunday at Selma City Hall at 4:20 p.m.
Tabernacle Baptist Church’s Rev. Dion Culliver of and Brown Chapel AME’s the Rev. Leodis Strong will commemorate the sacrifices people made in the fight for equal voting rights with a prayer during the ceremony.
The production company spent Saturday setting up for the commemorative march that is set to follow the vigil at 4:45 p.m. Meant to pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King’s contributions to the civil rights movement, the march will walk along the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The concert will follow with John Legend and Common.
The celebration will conclude with a red carpet event at the Walton Theater, where state officials and the film’s local cast and crew will see the movie. Evans said there is limited seating and by invitation only.
“I would love to give [the ‘Selma’ cast and crew] a great warm welcome because at the end of their presence here and what they’ve accomplished here, certainly they put Selma back on the map in a huge way,” Evans said.
Paramount Pictures will host two free showings of “Selma” at the Walton Theater Monday at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the box office. The weekend events got started Saturday, as students and teachers who screened ‘Selma’ the movie gathered at the Selma High School auditorium for a question and answer session with cast and filmakers.