Politics
Politics

Rep. John Lewis remembers Selma, 51 years later

Congressman JohnLewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge February 14, 2015. On March 7, 1965 Hosea Williams and JohnLewis led 600 civil rights activists across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a march for voting rights. BRANT SANDERLIN / BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM
Congressman JohnLewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge February 14, 2015. On March 7, 1965 Hosea Williams and JohnLewis led 600 civil rights activists across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a march for voting rights. BRANT SANDERLIN / BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM
By Erica Hernandez
March 7, 2016

Civil rights icon John Lewis took to Twitter Monday to remember the historic Selma to Montgomery marches.

March 7 marked the 51st anniversary of the marches, which the congressman remembers as the “highest point” in the civil rights movement.

In an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution ahead of the 50th anniversary of Selma, Lewis recalled filling his backpack that day with an apple, an orange, two books, a toothbrush and toothpaste. It was preparation for a cell, not a fractured skull.

Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, tweeted a series of photos and personal memories from the march.

“I was hit in the head by a State Trooper. I thought I saw death. I thought I was going to die,” Lewis tweeted with the hashtag #Selma51.

You can read more about Lewis revisiting Selma here.

ExploreRemembering John Lewis: The life and legacy of the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon

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