MAAFA & JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS
Click on blue words above for more info about these African American Commemorations! Check back often for Specific Dates in 2018!
Join Us In Selma, AL for the Historic 60th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee Celebration 2025!! (Click)
Come by The Museum & take a tour of our NEW Exhibits
Book a Tour Today!
Join us at the Annual Hall of Resistance Awards
Ceremony at The AAECWM 1410 Water Ave Each "Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee" March 8 at 4pm
Inductees TBA
Many other events for the whole family, throughout the year!!
Museum AAECWM FB page
CLICK PIC FOR WEBSITE! The 60th BRIDGE CROSSING JUBILEE March 6-9 2025 in Selma, AL
MISSION:
Affectionately called “The Jubilee”, it was founded in Selma, Alabama as a nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization. Our commitment is to the commemoration and preservation of
the spirit of the struggle for the right to vote in this country and the world. Our goal is
to inspire people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to respect and appreciate the power
of their vote.
501(c)(3) organization. Our commitment is to the commemoration and preservation of
the spirit of the struggle for the right to vote in this country and the world. Our goal is
to inspire people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to respect and appreciate the power
of their vote.
HISTORY:
This annual event in Selma, Alabama, commemorates "Bloody Sunday," which occurred
March 7, 1965, when a group of about 525 African American demonstrators gathered at
Browns Chapel to demand the right to vote. They walked six blocks to Broad Street, then
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they were met by more than 50 state troopers
and a few dozen possemen on horseback. When the demonstrators refused to turn back,
they were brutally beaten. At least 17 were hospitalized, and 40 others received
treatment for injuries andthe effects of tear gas. The attack, which was broadcast on
national television, caught the attention of millions of Americans and became a symbol
of the brutal racism of the South. Two weeks later, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
and 3,200 civil rights protesters marched the 49 miles from Selma to the state capital,
Montgomery—an event that prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act. Every
year on the first weekend in March, the Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates both the
bloody confrontation at the Pettus Bridge andthe march from Selma to Montgomery
that followed. Events include a parade, a Miss Jubilee Pageant, a mock trial, and a
commemorative march to the bridge. Every five years, celebrants continue all the
way to Montgomery.
March 7, 1965, when a group of about 525 African American demonstrators gathered at
Browns Chapel to demand the right to vote. They walked six blocks to Broad Street, then
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they were met by more than 50 state troopers
and a few dozen possemen on horseback. When the demonstrators refused to turn back,
they were brutally beaten. At least 17 were hospitalized, and 40 others received
treatment for injuries andthe effects of tear gas. The attack, which was broadcast on
national television, caught the attention of millions of Americans and became a symbol
of the brutal racism of the South. Two weeks later, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
and 3,200 civil rights protesters marched the 49 miles from Selma to the state capital,
Montgomery—an event that prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act. Every
year on the first weekend in March, the Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates both the
bloody confrontation at the Pettus Bridge andthe march from Selma to Montgomery
that followed. Events include a parade, a Miss Jubilee Pageant, a mock trial, and a
commemorative march to the bridge. Every five years, celebrants continue all the
way to Montgomery.
Why We Return:
Every year the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Inc., hosts the commemoration of this
historic event and the struggle for the right to vote, by gathering at the foot
of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a festival of music, art and historical
remembrance.
Several years ago this yearly event was dubbed “The Annual Pilgrimage to
Selma”. Tens of thousands of freedom loving people flock to Selma the first
weekend of every March to hear personal stories from surviving freedom
fighters from the movement and walk hand in hand with history makers
who were willing to lay down their lives for the right to have a voice in the
country they helped to build. For over a decade the heroes of the movement
and a host of other civic, political and national leaders have made the
annual pilgrimage to Selma, AL to join us in this event.
For over a decade The Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Inc. has attracted noted
individuals from all walks of life.
Past attendees have included:
Rosa Parks; Mrs. Coretta Scott King; President Barack Obama; Congressman
John Lewis; Former President Bill Clinton; Former President George W. Bush;
Sean Penn; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Bernard Lafayette, Jr.; Andrew Young; Ethel
and Max Kennedy; Ron Daniels; Geronimo Ji Jagga Pratt; Johnny Cochran;
Judge Joe Brown; Judge Greg Mathis; Chris Tucker; Drew Barrymore; Gloria
Steinem; Stephen King; Senator Bill Fritz; Jack Kemp; Roy Jones; Richard
Gephardt; Tony Bennet; Outkast; Tyrese Gibson; Master P; Susan Taylor;
Terrence Howard; Al Sharpton; Ethel and Max Kennedy; Gloria Steinem;
Roy Jones; Sonia Sanchez; Xernona Clayton; Shirley Franklin; Winnie
Madikizela-Mandela; Louis Gossett, Jr.; Marian Wright Edelman; Danny
Glover; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee; Congresswoman Maxine Waters;
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; Congressional Representatives....
historic event and the struggle for the right to vote, by gathering at the foot
of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a festival of music, art and historical
remembrance.
Several years ago this yearly event was dubbed “The Annual Pilgrimage to
Selma”. Tens of thousands of freedom loving people flock to Selma the first
weekend of every March to hear personal stories from surviving freedom
fighters from the movement and walk hand in hand with history makers
who were willing to lay down their lives for the right to have a voice in the
country they helped to build. For over a decade the heroes of the movement
and a host of other civic, political and national leaders have made the
annual pilgrimage to Selma, AL to join us in this event.
For over a decade The Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Inc. has attracted noted
individuals from all walks of life.
Past attendees have included:
Rosa Parks; Mrs. Coretta Scott King; President Barack Obama; Congressman
John Lewis; Former President Bill Clinton; Former President George W. Bush;
Sean Penn; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Bernard Lafayette, Jr.; Andrew Young; Ethel
and Max Kennedy; Ron Daniels; Geronimo Ji Jagga Pratt; Johnny Cochran;
Judge Joe Brown; Judge Greg Mathis; Chris Tucker; Drew Barrymore; Gloria
Steinem; Stephen King; Senator Bill Fritz; Jack Kemp; Roy Jones; Richard
Gephardt; Tony Bennet; Outkast; Tyrese Gibson; Master P; Susan Taylor;
Terrence Howard; Al Sharpton; Ethel and Max Kennedy; Gloria Steinem;
Roy Jones; Sonia Sanchez; Xernona Clayton; Shirley Franklin; Winnie
Madikizela-Mandela; Louis Gossett, Jr.; Marian Wright Edelman; Danny
Glover; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee; Congresswoman Maxine Waters;
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; Congressional Representatives....
