Bridge Crossing Jubilee
Visitor Centers will observe extended hour during this special event. On Sunday, March 5, 2023, our Lowndes and Montgomery visitor centers will be open 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., the Selma Visitor Center will be open 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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 Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to demand the right to vote. They walked six blocks to Broad Street and 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.
Every year on the first weekend in March, the Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorates both the bloody confrontation at the Pettus Bridge and the 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.
In previous years, congressmen and women, presidents, and vice presidents, have been in attendance, as well as many other notable historical figures.
Fees
Most events are free and open to the public, a select few events have a fee.
Location
Events take place throughout Selma, culminating to a march and rally across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Latitude and Longitude 32.406620, -87.019224
Schedule
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Events throughout the weekend and the week leading up to the Jubilee.
Event Type
- Festival
- Partner Program