03.07.15

The Heroes of ‘Bloody Sunday’

‘We honor those who marched that day, and we recommit ourselves to the task of building a society in which all men and women are treated equally.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement today regarding the 50th Anniversary of the ‘Bloody Sunday’ Civil Rights March:

“Today we commemorate a solemn anniversary in the long and painful journey toward the fulfillment of our nation’s founding promise of equality for all. Our nation has come a long way from the original sin of slavery and the kind of state-sanctioned racial injustice that outlasted it by nearly a century. But the heroes of Selma remind us that those victories were earned with blood, and that the fight for equality is not over. We honor those who marched that day, and we recommit ourselves to the task of building a society in which all men and women are treated equally. Fifty years ago today the Selma to Montgomery marchers showed the world the ugly face of injustice and they changed it. May their actions and their memory inspire us, and all future generations.”

Background: Earlier this month, Congress unanimously passed legislation awarding the participants in the Selma to Montgomery marches the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’s highest honor.  There will be a ceremony awarding the medal in the Capitol later this year.

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