Tuscaloosa Police arrest a protestor on ‘Blood Tuesday’

On Sunday, June 9, 2024, civil rights organizations in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will hold a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of ‘Bloody Tuesday’ when in 1964, police, state troopers and Klansmen beat 300 Black people gathered at the First African Baptist Church. The people, guided by the leadership of church pastor Rev. T. Y. Rogers of SCLC, were preparing to march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse to integrate the facility.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had recruited and trained Rev. T. Y. Rogers for a major role in the Civil Rights Movement and sent him to Tuscaloosa to lead the movement. ‘Bloody Tuesday’ occurred eight months before the ‘Bloody Sunday March’ in Selma, Alabama, but did not receive the same news coverage and national attention, although there was more violence and arrests, against more people in Tuscaloosa. ’Bloody Tuesday’ was the largest assault and invasion of a Black church by law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement.

The 60h anniversary commemoration will feature Congresswoman Terri Sewell of the 7th. Congressional District speaking on the importance of voting and revitalizing the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which have been diluted b y Supreme Court decisions and state voter suppression laws. Charles Steele, President of SCLC and a former Tuscaloosa City Councilman and State Senator will make remarks. Steele and his brother, both teenagers at the time, were present at the church on ‘Bloody Tuesday’.

Other surviving movement foot soldiers, who were present at the church, like Maxie Thomas and others, will present greetings. There will also be a re-enactment of the march to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse.

History Professor, John Geggie, of the University of Alabama, who has written a new book on ‘Bloody Tuesday’ will be at the program to give remarks and sign copies of the book.

The program will he held on Sunday, June 9, 2024, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM at the First African Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa, 2621 Stillman Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404. The public is invited to share in this important civil rights commemoration and recommitment to restoring voting rights for Black and poor people.