House passes Terri Sewell’s bill to rename Selma post office after civil rights legend Amelia Boynton Robinson

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January 20, 2015: Amelia Boynton Robinson joining me for an appearance on MSNBC's "Politics Nation"

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday to officially name a Selma USPS post office after the late civil rights legend Amelia Boynton Robinson.

H.R. 4777, a bill authored by Alabama 7th District U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, next goes to the Senate for approval. A time frame for passage there is uncertain.

Terri Sewell Amelia Boynton post office
Rep. Terri Sewell makes a floor speech in her effort to name a Selma post office after civil rights legend Amelia Boynton Robinson,

The bill would designate the post office at 1301 Alabama Avenue in Selma as the “Amelia Boynton Robinson Post Office Building.”

Boynton Robinson was a voting rights pioneer and a leader in the American Voting Rights Movement in Selma. She was among those beaten during the voting rights march across Selma’s Edmund Pettus bridge in March 1965 — a day that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” In 1990 she was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Freedom.

Boynton Robinson died Aug. 26, 2015, at 104 years old.

“I was delighted that the House of Representatives passed my legislation to name the Selma Post Office after Voting Rights Activist Amelia Boynton Robinson,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Sewell. “Mrs. Boynton Robinson was known as the matriarch of the voting rights movement. Her life and legacy epitomized strength, resilience, perseverance and courage — the same characteristics that embody the City of Selma where she made such a significant impact.”

Sewell continued, “A trailblazer, Amelia Boynton Robinson also made history in 1964 as the first black woman to run for Congress from the State of Alabama. I know the journey I now take as Alabama’s first black congresswoman was only made possible because of her courage, tenacity and faith.  As a daughter of Selma, I am honored to sponsor this legislation, and I can think of no more deserving person to name the Selma post office after than Amelia Boynton Robinson. She truly represents the heart, spirit and essence of Selma.”

Mayor George Evans of Selma was also pleased to see the bill pass the House, stating, “I am delighted that Congresswoman Sewell’s bill passed with such overwhelming support. Amelia Boynton Robinson put herself and her family’s lives at risk and this is a long overdue honor and I am in support of naming the post office after her.”

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