Pappas: Bloody Sunday 60th anniversary and civil rights movement offer lessons for today

Last weekend I joined a group of colleagues, civil rights leaders, and community members in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham for the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. It is an important time to remember our history, honor the courage of civil rights foot soldiers, and recognize that the fight against injustice and discrimination continues.

We heard first-hand accounts from individuals who organized, marched, and participated in civil disobedience in the 1950s and 60s to confront Jim Crow, segregation, and white supremacy. As they fought against racist policies that disenfranchised Black Americans in the South, marchers were brutally beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965.

With the intervention of the courts, a third march finally made it all the way to Montgomery and galvanized the nation and Congress behind the 1965 Voting Rights Act. These civil rights heroes had stood up to the most entrenched, violent forces in our society and prevailed, bringing our nation closer to its founding promise.

The march toward progress isn’t an even or an easy journey. But what those patriotic Americans showed us is that ours is a government of the people where everyday Americans can stand up and make change. That’s an important lesson for us to remember as we confront daunting challenges today.

John Lewis often reminded us that the fight for justice and equality is one that lasts a lifetime, and we must always “keep our eyes on the prize.” 60 years after Bloody Sunday, we must continue to confront discrimination, defend hard-won progress, and build a future where each and every American has freedom, dignity, and opportunity.