Bipartisan congressional delegation tours Alabama civil rights site
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. Congress members visited Birmingham on Friday as part of a three-day tour of the state’s civil rights history. The 2019 Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage is organized by the nonprofit Faith and Politics Institute, which offers tours, retreats, forums and reflection groups to members of Congress and their staffs. Since 1998, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) has led close to 300 members of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush in 2015, through Alabama each spring. This year, 45 members of Congress made the trip. This year’s pilgrimage includes stops in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma. In addition to Lewis, honorary co-hosts include Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama as well as Rep. Martha Roby and Rep. Terri Sewell. Rep. Bradley Byrne is also part of this year’s group. “This is a bipartisan delegation of Democrats and Republicans, and they say there is no civility in Washington. We are here to prove that wrong,” Sewell said. “What I love about Faith & Politics is it’s an opportunity for us to shed the R and the D, the blue and the red … for pink, for colors of unity,” she said, alluding to the jacket she was wearing. A native of Selma, Sewell said it’s an honor to visit places important in civil rights history with Lewis, who led the Bloody Sunday march in her hometown as a 25-year-old alongside the Rev. Hosea Williams. Lewis was also one of the 13 original Freedom Riders working to integrate transportation in the South and spoke at 1963’s March on Washington. “I think it’s so important that we not only acknowledge our history, but we have to pay it forward as well, to really come together and get to know each other as we travel through time with our distinguished colleague John Lewis,” Sewell said. “To have an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of John Lewis with John Lewis is an honor.” On Friday, the delegation visited 16th Street Baptist Church, where they were greeted by Pastor Arthur Price and the Carleton Reese Memorial Unity Choir singing “This Little Light of Mine.” Students from Montgomery Public Schools and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival performed parts of “Four Little Girls,” which portrays the lives of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victims Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia D. Morris Wesley and Addie Mae Collins before that tragic day in September 1963 and imagines the impact they would have made in the world if their lives hadn’t been cut short. “You’re speaking truth,” Lewis told the students after the production. “You’re making it real. I remember coming to this church after the bombing and standing outside.” Jones, a former U.S. district attorney, discussed prosecuting two of the men, Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry, decades later for their roles in the bombing. On Saturday, the delegation visits Selma, where the group will walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and visit the Selma Interpretive Center and Brown Chapel AME Church. That afternoon, they will tour Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church in Montgomery, the Southern Poverty Law Center Civil Rights Memorial, the Rosa Parks Museum and Alabama State Capitol. The pilgrimage finishes Sunday with a service at First Baptist Church Montgomery. Republished with permission from Alabama NewsCenter. Alabama Today Editors Note: We encourage you to visit the original post Alabama NewsCenter to see all of the photos and video of this important tour as covered by Justin Averette.
Doug Jones, Terri Sewell, Martha Roby join forces to lead Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage
Members of the Alabama delegation are putting their politics aside and joining forces to lead a bipartisan congressional delegation of nearly 50 members from the U.S. House and U.S. Senate on the 2019 Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage. U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Martha Roby (R-AL) are co-hosting the annual event put on by the Faith and Politics Institute (FPI) along with civil rights icon U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA). “The annual civil rights pilgrimage is a valuable opportunity to turn toward this painful chapter in our history, rather than away from it,” said Jones. “By reflecting on the sacrifices and injustices of that time, we can better apply their lessons to our daily lives. We are seeing a resurgence of the kind of dangerous rhetoric that inspired hate and violence in our past and undermined the values we hold dear. To honor those who bravely fought and bled in the pursuit of equality, we must continue to shine a light on their actions and stand up against those who would once again use hate as a tool to divide us.” The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is “Finding Hope from History.” The bipartisan congressional delegation will experience sites where history was changed by the nonviolent protest of brave foot soldiers who marched for civil rights and will visit historic civil rights landmarks such as Birmingham’s 16th St. Baptist Church, Montgomery’s Dexter Baptist Church, and Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. The delegation will engage members of Congress on the events that changed the course of American history and seek to apply those lessons to the challenges of the day. Sewell is hoping this year’s pilgrimage will do just that. “As Alabama’s first Black Congresswoman, I know I stand on the shoulders of so many giants who courageously fought, bled and died to make our society more just and inclusive for all,” explained Sewell. “I hope this Pilgrimage will help us reflect on all that we can do – individually and collectively – to advance justice and equality in our nation.” The Civil Rights Pilgrimage will also bring members of Congress to The Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery to learn about the history of domestic slavery and lynching in the United States. Opened in 2018, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is “the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.” Roby, whose district includes the National Memorial for Peace and Justice says she hopes her colleagues will “immerse themselves in the history” of Alabama. “Each year, this event serves as a unique opportunity for lawmakers to immerse themselves in the history of my home state and to better understand its place in the American Civil Rights Movement,” added Roby. “I encourage this year’s participants to share their experiences and Alabama’s stories with residents of their home states so that all Americans can take part in building a legacy of hope, faith, and justice for generations to come. Together, we will shape a brighter future.” This year’s pilgrimage to Alabama will take place March 1 – 3.
