Thousands marched from Selma to Montgomery Saturday calling for a full restoration of the Voting Rights Act

Last edited Sun May 17, 2026, 12:32 AM - Edit history (5)

Isaac G. Bryan @ib2_real 7h
Today thousands are marching in Selma calling for a full restoration of the voting rights act

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Thousands of people rallied Saturday in the cradle of the modern civil rights movement to mobilize a new voting rights era as conservative states dismantle congressional districts that helped secure Black political representation.

A crowd of thousands gathered in front of the city’s historic Alabama Capitol, where the Confederacy was formed in 1861 and where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in 1965 at the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march. The stage, set in front of the Capitol, was flanked from behind by statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and civil rights icon Rosa Parks — dueling tributes erected nearly 90 years apart.

Speakers said the spot was once the temple of the Confederacy and transformed into holy ground of the civil rights movement.

The rally began in Selma, where a violent clash between law enforcement and voting rights activists in 1965 galvanized support for passage of the Voting Rights Act. It then moved to the state Capitol, where King gave his “How Long, Not Long” speech the same year.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2026-05-16/montgomery-alabama-thousands-rally-to-defend-voting-rights




Mom's flyer from the March on Montgomery March 24-25, 1965



...these folks are Democrats, and are out ther fighting for their rights which translate into critical support for a Democratic majority in November and beyond.

This is about everyone's rights. If republicans and the maga justices are successful, it risks the future of the Democratic party, of which black voters have accounted about 80% of the electorate voting for Democrats.

Defend these rights or forfeit these voters to obscurity.

Speak up in support of these dedicated people rallying for our rights.

I didn't post this just to satisfy myself that I've made some special effort by cut and pasting. I'm looking to see how many here give a shit.

I'd imagine a lot would be said about the black community harming their own interests by turning away from the party, but if it's basically flatfooted and indifferent to our plights, it's a piss poor vehicle to sign onto hoping to have our concerns represented.

I'll not be reduced to hat-in-hand begging the party (and supporters) for recognition. Imagine the reaction to indifference from folks who aren't lifetime Democrats like me, and make a choice to make certain you give recognition to those individuals and the concerns they express as you would your own.

With less black majority districts, less consolidation of black ploitical power and influence, I'd guess the black vote will be very much harder for the party to organize into the political force that delivered seats in the South, for instance.

The Democratic party appeal to black voters is more important than ever, I'm certain our leaders in office right now recognize this challenge, but I'm less certain that Democratic party supporters who don't share the heightened vulnerabilities of the black community at the behest of Jim Crow legislators and judges will rise to the occasion (active and consciencious DUers, the exception, of course).

We need all hands on this one. The opposition wouldn't be leaning so heavily into this just to push black folks around, although that's their bestest thing ever they like to do. They're repressing blacks and other dark-skinned people to soften the ground for repressing everyone who isn't part of their cabal.

Try asking yourself why so many people like my parents traveled into danger down south during a period that was arguably more fraught with danger and uncertainty than today.

Then ask yourself, 'Am I doing what I can for the struggle?'

I mean, why would black Americans give fealty to a party that doesn't respond to them, doesn't actively stand with them to defend their rights, as black Americans have stood for generations to defend the party?

If you think this is foolishness, consider what we're facing:

Poll: Democrats would give up Black voting power to beat the GOP
In a new POLITICO Poll, a plurality of Democrats say the party should counter Republican gerrymandering, even if it means reducing the number of majority-minority districts.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/14/poll-democrats-redistricting-black-voters-00919972

I'll bet some think I'm just trifling on this. I'm damn mad.

Why weren't there 100s of thousands at the march? No one can convince me that's an unreasonable expectation, other than to suggest that the country is lost.