Alabama State University News March 9, 2015 Students Participate in Selma to Montgomery Commemorative March by Tina Joly Two busloads of students from Alabama State University got an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of historic civil rights leaders during a 50th anniversary commemoration of "Bloody Sunday" held in Selma, Ala., on March 8. The event was held to honor the approximately 600 men, women and children who attempted to cross Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge and march to Montgomery on March 7, 1965, protesting for equal voting rights for blacks. When the marchers got to the foot of the bridge, they were brutally beaten and trampled by horses ridden by Alabama State Troopers. Amanda Price, a senior history major from Charlotte, N.C., and vice president of the ASU Student Government Association, said she rode the bus to Selma because ASU students always have played an important role in the fight for equality. "Students and young people helped organize the Selma to Montgomery March. In fact, no movement or revolution has ever happened without young people," Price said. "ASU students participated in sit-ins and protests even before they took part in the Selma to Montgomery March, and there are lots of students here now who are working to change and help make this world a better place." Amber Clark, a junior political science major from Atlanta, said the commemorative walk was emotional and memorable. "Participating in the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday civil rights march brought out mixed emotions. I was euphoric about having the opportunity to march. Then I had an emotional moment on the bridge where I remembered the blood, sweat and tears of those brave people who tried to march across it 50 years ago," Clark said. "Once I completed the walk, I started thinking about all the progress we have made, and I got excited about that progress. I was also excited about the fact that all of us were marching to make sure that what happened in 1965 won't happen in 2065." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.