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Largest annual civil rights event in the U.S. taking place in Selma

Alabama Public Radio | By Jolencia Jones

Published February 27, 2024 at 4:45 AM CST

People walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 5, 2023, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a landmark event of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)

FILE - Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights marchers cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., heading for the capitol in Montgomery, Ala., March 21, 1965. On Sunday, March 5, 2023, President Joe Biden is set to pay tribute to the heroes of “Bloody Sunday," joining thousands for the annual commemoration of the seminal moment in the civil rights movement that led to passage of landmark voting rights legislation nearly 60 years ago. On March 21, 1965, King began a third march, under federal protection, which grew by thousands by the time they arrived at the state capital. (AP Photo, File)

The largest annual civil rights event in the nation takes place in Alabama this week. Selma's annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee starts on Thursday, Feb. 29, and continues through Sunday, March 3.

President Joe Biden prepares to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 5, 2023, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a landmark event of the civil rights movement. From left, Biden, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., the Rev. Al Sharpton, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The event remembers an attack 59 years ago known as Bloody Sunday. Law enforcement attacked hundreds of voting rights marchers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. The event also commemorates the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 2024 theme is "Return to the Bridge: Democracy and the Vote at Stake."

President Barack Obama, center, walks as he holds hands with Amelia Boynton Robinson across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. for the 50th anniversary of the landmark event of the civil rights movement, March 7, 2015. During a commemoration of the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Elliott Smith's great-aunt pushed him across the iconic bridge in a stroller. Decades later, just before her passing, Smith switched roles and guided her wheelchair across the same bridge in 2015. She was Amelia Boynton Robinson, who helped lead the 1965 march. Now, at 27, Smith himself is in Selma leading a multiracial delegation of millennial and Gen Z activists with the intention of reshaping the ongoing voting rights debate around their generations’ access to political power and socioeconomic justice. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Old-Fashioned Mass Meeting at Tabernacle is the official kickoff of the jubilee. It begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, the original site of mass meetings during the Selma Voting Rights Movement.

Avayomi Goodall is an organizer of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee. She said the church holds historic power.

“The mass meetings were where people went to find out the strategy, the message and how to move forward in the movement to bring about change,” Goodall explained. “In the spirit of the 60s, we still continue to have the mass meeting.”

Historically, meetings and events were moved from Tabernacle Baptist Church for safety reasons.

“People were targeted because it's right there on Broad Street. People were targeted for coming to the meeting. So, their names, if they were recognized, were being written down. Their tag numbers were being reported back to the bosses that they worked for on the plantations or in respectable jobs,” she explained.

Goodall said the Bridge Crossing Jubilee is about embracing and continuing the fight for justice.

"We use this opportunity every year, not only to come together to commemorate all of those foot soldiers, shift shakers and history makers who helped to bring democracy-- particularly the right to vote to our country-- but we also come together and charge ourselves each year with the responsibility of continuing this movement, continuing this fight," Goodall explained.

The Freedom Flame Awards Gala is one of the big events to expect on Saturday, March 2, with tickets on sale. Goodall said it features entertainment speakers and prestigious awards. This year, Benjamin Crump will receive a Freedom Flame Award for his work in the community.

The 2024 Martin & Coretta King Unity Breakfast is a premiere event of the Jubilee. It begins at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 3, on the campus of Wallace Community College Selma.

Speakers this year include Martin Luther King, III; Tennessee Representative Gloria Johnson, one of the Tennessee Three; U.S. Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke; and Assistant Democratic Leader Congressman Jim Clyburn.

Additionally, there will be dozens of events at various locations throughout Selma during the Bridge Crossing Jubilee. This includes a parade, a festival, workshops, award ceremonies, and more. Most events are free, but some require tickets bought in advance.

Each year, the event grows monumentally. Organizers say up to 15,000 people are expected to attend. The 50^th anniversary had almost 40,000 people in attendance. Next year will be the 60^th anniversary. Goodall said she expects it to be just as big, since the event is almost like a family reunion.

More on the 2024 Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma can be found here.