Bloody Sunday: In Selma, Harris links rights movement with bodily autonomy

Speaking in Selma, Alabama, on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris drew parallels between the Civil Rights Movement, the rights to bodily autonomy and the right to start a family.

"Freedom is fundamental to the promise of America," Harris told a crowd of hundreds gathered near the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where baton-wielding state troopers confronted marchers demanding Black voting rights in 1965. "Freedom is not to be given. It is not to be bestowed. It is ours by right."

Harris spoke about the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that frozen embryos were entitled to the same protections as children and what it could mean for those who want to start families.

"This generation has fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers," she said. "The government should not be telling her what to do with her body."

She also told the crowd she supports a ceasefire in Gaza while reiterating her support for Israel to "defend itself."

"What we are seeing every day in Gaza is devastating," she said. "Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. ... As I have said repeatedly since Oct. 7, Israel has a right to defend itself. Hamas cannot control Gaza, and the threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated."

She then led the commemorative march across the bridge, flanked by civil rights foot soldiers who originally walked across the bridge 59 years ago.

This is Harris’ second visit to Selma in recent years. She attended and spoke at the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in 2022. There were echoes of her 2022 speech in her words on Sunday, still emphasizing the “ongoing fight” for the freedom to vote.

Many prominent politicians and celebrities have attended the march in the past, including President Joe Biden, the Obamas, the Clintons, the Bushes and Drew Barrymore. This year, notable figures present included U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Selma native and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell welcomed a congressional delegation on Saturday.

Throughout the day, there was chanting, singing and storytelling. Walking around the area at the foot of the bridge in downtown Selma, there were dozens of overheard conversations about the importance of remembering and honoring history.

"Thank you for returning the bridge," former Alabama Sen. Hank Sanders said. "Over the last 200 years, we have fought too hard to be included in this imperfect democracy to allow it to be demolished or diminished."

Eugene Smith, who marched across the bridge 59 years ago, attended Sunday's event with his niece. This was the first time he's come back to Selma from Chicago since crossing the bridge on Bloody Sunday.

"Even today, just remembering what took place, there's nothing over there," he said, gesturing toward the other side of the bridge. "It was just to keep us back."

Nancy Parker has attended the Selma march every year since she was 16. She stood at the front of the crowd entrance Sunday alongside her husband and four kids. They drove four hours to march across the bridge and honor their relatives, like Benny Lee Tucker, who were a part of grassroots efforts in Selma decades ago.

Her teenage son, Jalen, hopes to go into politics and said he was there to learn.

"You have to do something about injustice. That's pretty much what Selma is about," he said. "We hear it, but there's no action."

The central day on the hearts and minds of attendees was March 7, 1965. That day, civil rights icon John Lewis led a group of peaceful protesters across the bridge with the intention of heading straight on to Montgomery. Instead, state and local law enforcement stopped them on the other side of the river with downtown Selma still in sight.

When the demonstrators did not immediately turn around at law enforcement’s request, state troopers and others charged at them, using gas, batons and other weapons. The violence was reported nationwide, and after two more Alabama marches, it ultimately shocked the country into the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law on Aug. 6, 1965, securing the Black right to vote.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com. To support his work, subscribe to Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Kamala Harris leads 59th annual bridge crossing in Selma