Donated Funds to Support the Building of the March on Selma Monument
March 14, 2005
McKenna Long & Aldridge will host a lunch from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on March 14, 2005 in support of the development of a monument to the March on Selma. During the lunch, John Lewis will discuss his civil rights experiences and the March on Selma. A minimum $25 tax deductible donation is requested. Interested parties can RSVP by March 10 to Leslie Broome at lbroome@mckennalong.com.
Representative John Lewis is one of the Big Six leaders of the civil rights movement and "has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls 'The Beloved Community' in America." Born outside of Troy, Alabama, Rep. Lewis was inspired to be a part of the civil rights movement by the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. For his convictions, he has been arrested more than 40 times and suffered physical attacks and serious injury. He was the Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and an architect and keynote speaker of the March on Washington. Trying to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the State of Alabama, Rep. Lewis and Hosea Williams intended to lead 600 peaceful protesters from Selma to Montgomery. Brutally attacked by Alabama State Troopers while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, March 7, 1965 will forever be remembered as "Bloody Sunday." To commemorate courage of these 600 individuals, a monument (rendering below) is being built in Freedom Park.