President Biden to visit Selma for ‘Bloody Sunday’ anniversary

President Joe Biden walks over to speak to reporters before he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, for travel to Wilmington,…

President Joe Biden walks over to speak to reporters before he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, for travel to Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

by: Austin Franklin, Associated Press

Posted: Feb 28, 2023 / 10:55 AM CST

Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 10:55 AM CST

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — President Joe Biden is traveling to Alabama on March 5 to commemorate a crucial moment of the civil rights movement.

On Sunday, March 5, President Biden will travel to Selma, Alabama. The President will commemorate the 58th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday. pic.twitter.com/y7EJmpaJDL
— Reshad Hudson (@ReshadHudson) February 28, 2023

Biden will be in Selma to mark the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white police attacked Black voting rights marchers.

This will be Biden’s first visit to Selma as president. It is currently unknown if any other members of Biden’s administration will be in Selma to mark the occasion.

Last year, Vice President Kamala Harris, along with several other members of Biden’s administration, took part in the annual symbolic march across the bridge.

On March 7, 1965, Alabama state troopers beat and tear-gassed hundreds of demonstrators. The confrontation set the stage weeks later for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the massive Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights.