NAACP to march from Selma to D.C.

Published 11:27 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2015

By Staci JonesThe Selma Times-Journal

The 860-mile America’s Journey for Justice march will begin Saturday in Selma and end Sept. 15. The march will include seminars, rallies and other events during the four day journey.

“We have to get America to embrace its promise . . . equal justice under the law has yet to be fulfilled. It’s time to make sure we do all that we can to ensure that the promises in the constitution are fulfilled,” said the Rev. Lawrence Wofford, Selma NAACP branch president.

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The march will begin Saturday morning with a blessing at the Boynton House, 1315 Lapsley Street, in Selma. The home of Sam and Amelia Boynton served as a meeting place for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 1965 leaders.

The blessing will begin at 10 a.m. and will be followed by an 11 a.m. rally at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The march will begin at noon.

Faya Rose [Sanders] Toure said the march comes at a perfect time, given the Aug. 6 anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and current events in the country.

“It’s an awesome idea. During the Jubilee, we planned to do a caravan to the Capitol. When we were told by the NAACP that they were going by foot, we knew we had to join,’’ Toure said.

Mayor George Evans said it was only fitting for the NAACP’s march to start in Selma.

“It will bring recognition to our city for being such a pioneer to the Voting Rights Act. It’ll show that Selma is more than just a place to call home,” Evans said.

The march will go through much of the South, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Throughout the campaign, there will be rallies to allow people to participate with marching for miles.

“We have to march for the injustices that too many are experiencing today. We have to reevaluate our criminal justice system. The Journey for Justice will pursue just that as we walk through those states and to the Capitol,” Toure said.

For more information on the march, to register, or to view a full schedule, visit http://www.naacp.org/ajfj.