Alabama plan advances to alter name of Edmund Pettus Bridge

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April 6th, 2022

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, Marian Robinson, Amelia Boynton, Laura Bush, John Lewis
In this March 7, 2015, file photo, singing "We Shall Overcome," President Barack Obama, third from left, walks holding hands with Amelia Boynton, who was beaten during "Bloody Sunday," as they and the first family and others including Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga, left of Obama, walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., for the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a landmark event of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would alter the name of Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor those who were beaten on the bridge as they marched for civil rights in 1965.

The Alabama Senate voted 23-3 for legislation that would change the official name to the “Edmund W. Pettus-Foot Soldiers Bridge.” However, the lettering on the famous bridge would remain unaltered. The name “Foot Soldiers” would be on a separate sign that would include a silhouette of the marchers.

The bill, dubbed the “Healing History Act,” now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives with three meeting days remaining in the legislative session.

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