Selma Caravan Commemorates Voting Rights Act and Calls for Protections

Published 12:15 pm Wednesday, August 5, 2020

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The Bridge Crossing Jubilee and city of Selma will celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on Thursday.

The HONK 4 Voting Rights Caravan will start at 4 p.m. at the Dallas County Courthouse and travel through the neighborhoods to distribute voting rights information that includes registering to vote and meeting specific deadlines. The caravan will end at Memorial Park at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge around 5:15 p.m.

Community members, elected officials, and candidates in municipal races are scheduled to participate in the caravan.

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Selma City Councilmen John Leashore and Michael Johnson both confirmed that they will participate.

Mayoral candidates Turkesa Sullivan and Attorney Yusuf Salaam, City Council candidates Lesia James, Landon Nichols, and Rev. Wil Jackson also announced that they will participate.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own vehicles, masks, signs, and noisemakers, and practicing responsible social distancing. The free event is nonpartisan and participation is open to all residents.

“Voting rights affect all of us.”, HONK 4 Voting Rights Caravan lead organizer Drew Glover said. “We have seen shortened voting hours, new barriers to registration, stricter voter identification laws, and the removal of polling places across the country – but especially in the South. Our goal with the event is to offer tools and encourage the people of Selma to participate in democracy.”