Troubling Waters

I first walked over the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the fiftieth anniversary year of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama seeking equitable voting rights for all citizens of the United States. The act of protest brought attention to the violence enacted upon non-violent protestors by law enforcement, white supremacists, and others.

The marchers were not originally able to make it to Montgomery due to the violence, and the demonstration had to be completed later than originally hoped. Today, the bridge and visitor’s center in Selma tells the story of that end of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. In Montgomery, the story blurs with the lack of attention to the struggle and commitment these protests took. At the capitol, little puts the story in central focus, so that you could visit and still miss the major movement toward voting rights that ended on the steps leading up to the building.