54 Years Since Selma's Bloody Sunday

Today marks 54 years since Bloody Sunday in Selma, Al. John Lewis and 40 other Congressional Representatives and their guests are commemorating and reenacting the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis does this every year to try to bring folks together around the issues of racial and social justice as well as the concept of nonviolent resistance. There are visits to various civil rights museum, famous churches and historical sites, talks and songs about the importance of those times and the efforts of so many people. 

As I follow along on on social media it looks like the Congressional group is not as politically diverse this year which is too bad. There seem to be less Republican participants but that could just be me looking at the group. It is also extremely sad that while they were visiting and discussing sites and inclusive history yesterday, Donald Trump was making his remarks to CPAC about immigrants and so many other issues. 

There is much work for Congress to do, to try to move the country forward and it's not just laws that need to be passed. Hate is being celebrated on too many fronts and people are feeling threatened and scared. More and more, people are questioning civility and nonviolence. Confrontation is being promoted and becoming more acceptable. We need reminders that these are really not the solutions that are needed right now. Hate and confrontational reactions to hate just lead to a never ending cycle of hate. Sticking together, standing strong and working toward peace and justice are really what's needed in today's environment. Take your lessons from the history of nonviolent direct action as we all move forward.