Renaming Edmund Pettus Bridge for John Lewis opposed in Selma

FILE – In this Friday, March 6, 2015, file photo, the sun sets over the Edmund Pettus Bridge where preparations are underway for the 50th anniversary of…

FILE – In this Friday, March 6, 2015, file photo, the sun sets over the Edmund Pettus Bridge where preparations are underway for the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march for a visit Saturday with President Barack Obama and the first family, in Selma, Ala. Some residents in the landmark civil rights city of Selma, Ala., are among the critics of a bid to rename the historic bridge where voting rights marchers were beaten in 1965. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Jul 21, 2020 / 07:14 AM CDT

Updated: Jul 21, 2020 / 07:18 AM CDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Calls are growing nationally to honor the late Rep. John Lewis by putting his name on the Alabama bridge where he and other voting rights demonstrators were beaten 55 years ago.

But the idea is being met with resistance in Selma, Alabama, the city where “Bloody Sunday” occurred. Some say renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the Georgia congressman would dishonor local activists who spent years advocating for civil rights before Lewis arrived in town in the 1960s. Others fear tourism would be hurt if the name were changed.

Alabama legislators would have to approve any change, and a key lawmaker says the change wouldn’t be appropriate.