A lot of people do not realize and fully appreciate the great sacrifices that were made a little more than 30 years ago. In 1965 the nation watched in horror as hundreds of Civil Rights marchers were brutality beaten as they attempted to complete a 50 mile March from Montgomery, Alabama to Selma. The march was in protest to the win the right for Blacks in the South to vote without all the discriminatory practices and intimidation that kept them away from the polls. The beatings that took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge were so horrific that they have become known as Bloody Sunday. More then 100 marchers were seriously injured by Selma police. During that same time dozens of others people both black and white were lynched, jailed and shot when they tried to secure voting rights legislation.
It wasn't until this past September the people of Selma finally got enough votes together to get rid of the racist Mayor who led the assault 35 years ago. For those who don't know this is the same Mayor who not only led the vicious assaults on Bloody Sunday', but he was also known for frequently referring to Dr Martin Luther King as 'Dr Martin Luther Coon'. In spite of all the progress we have made over the years that same Mayor managed to keep his position for 10 straight terms. The key to this historic victory in September was the involvement of the Hip Hop generation. All sorts of rap artist like the Goodie Mob came out to show support and encouraged people to come out and vote. The response was overwhelming victory..
In the early part of the 20th century Women went through a lot to win the right the vote in what we now know as the Suffrage Movement. It was hard fought and it wasn't until 1920 that women in this country were allowed to vote. All around the world people in numerous countries from South Africa to most recently Yugoslavia have fought and died for the right to vote. Nowadays while many of us in the country take the right to vote for granted, there are many who slowly seeing that right stripped away. In particular are folks who wind up going to prison. [Top of page]
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