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Today, March
7, 2015, President Obama will lead the nation and
world in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Bloody
Sunday in Selma, Alabama. The horrific events
of "Bloody Sunday" and the courageous movement work of
countless individuals risking and giving their lives
propelled the passage of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting racial
discrimination in voting. This legislative victory in the
Civil Rights Movement was a vital part of progress that
increased the participation of Black voters in American
elections and the number of Black elected officials on all
levels of government.
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Bayard Rustin and
James Baldwin participate in
Selma to Montgomery March Activities in 1965
Photo Credit: © Stephen Somerstein
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The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) remembers the
dark, yet triumphant events of 1965 in America, and
recognizes that this rich Black history is essential to
guiding the modern movement for justice in America and
abroad. As the nation's leading civil rights organization
dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) people, NBJC envisions a world where
all people are fully-empowered to participate safely, openly
and honestly in family, faith and community, regardless of
race, class, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The
Civil Rights Movement called all people of good will to
action to pursue justice on behalf of Black Americans and
grant full enfranchisement for all people in the American
democracy.
 "I
was only 15 years old when Bayard Rustin organized the
historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
in Washington, DC. It was only two years later when I
witnessed the television pictures of the marchers from
Selma to Montgomery putting their lives on the line to
advance voting rights," says Mandy Carter, NBJC
co-founder and
Bayard
Rustin 2013 Commemoration Project National
Coordinator.
"A critical part of our current justice movement must be
to ensure that the contributions of Black LGBT and
same-gender loving (SGL) people like Bayard Rustin, Audre
Lorde, James Baldwin, Marsha P. Johnson, Aaron Henry, and
countless others in the fight for Black liberation in this
nation are preserved and uplifted as Black American
History."
At
NBJC, we celebrate and work to bring voice to the millions
of individuals that live at the intersection of race, gender
identity and expression, and sexual orientation in our
nation. The continued challenges, innovative movement
building, and vast hope that exists in Black America today,
particularly in Black LGBTQ/SGL communities, is the
narrative NBJC will always provide space for and bring voice
to on the national level. When the voices of the most
marginalized in our communities are heard and defended, our
nation will draw closer to the "more perfect union" the U.S.
Constitution guarantees. This requires persistent action by
Congress and across all levels of government to enact laws
and policies like the Voting
Rights Amendment Actthat
expand equality. The future of our nation depends on our
collective ability to make this vital imperative a reality
in 2015 and beyond.
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“I know you are asking today, ‘How long will it take?’
Somebody’s asking, ‘How long will prejudice blind the
visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive
bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?’Somebody's
asking, ‘When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on
the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all
over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to
reign supreme among the children of men?’Somebody's
asking, ‘When will the radiant star of hope be plunged
against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night plucked
from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of
death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth
bear it?’I come to say to you this afternoon, however
difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it
will not be long, because ‘truth crushed to earth will
rise again.’ How long? Not long, because ‘no lie can
live forever.’”
- Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
March 25, 1965
Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery, AL)
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott
King leading
during the Selma to
Montgomery marches in March 1965.
Photo Credit: Robert Sengstacke/Getty Images
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