The Legislature of Alabama finds and declares all of the following:
(1) On Sunday, March 7, 1965, citizens participating in a peaceful march while seeking their voting rights were beaten as they attempted to cross the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
(2) The initial impetus for the march on March 7, 1965, derived from the killing of Jimmy Lee Jackson in Marion, Alabama, and the majority of the citizens on the march were citizens of Perry County, Alabama, who had traveled in a processional from Marion via Highway 14 to Selma, Alabama.
(3) On March 21, 1965, the Selma to Montgomery March brought international attention to the State of Alabama.
(4) Over 25,000 people marched together in a fight for the right to vote, free and fair from any discrimination.
(5) Due in part to the effort of the participants in the Selma to Montgomery March, the federal government enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thereby protecting the right of all citizens to vote.
(6) The Selma to Montgomery March inspired people from nations all over the world, including South Africa and Poland, to proclaim and fight for their right to vote and is an international symbol for the right to vote.
(7) On September 19, 1996, the United States Secretary of Transportation designated the Selma to Montgomery Scenic Byway as an All-American Road under the National Scenic Byways Program.
(8) The National Park Omnibus Act of 1996 officially established the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, consisting of 54 miles, of city streets and U.S. Highway 80 from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma to the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, Alabama.
(9) The Selma to Montgomery March made America a true democracy by providing the impetus by which all citizens of the United States of America are allowed to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
(10) Although the rich history and notoriety surrounding the Selma to Montgomery March have had a tremendous impact on educating people about voting rights and promoting tourism and economic development in the State of Alabama, the designation of the "International Voting Rights Trail" and creation of the International Voting Rights Trail Commission will enable the people of Alabama to make an even greater impact on future generations.
(11) Sammie Young was murdered in Tuskegee while struggling for voting rights and Gomillion v. Lightfoot, one of the most important landmark cases of our time on voting rights, originated in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Last modified: May 3, 2021