The Bridge Crossing Commemoration and Jubilee’s 2024 Theme is Return to the Bridge: Democracy and the Vote are at Stake. In 2023, President Joe Biden was a special guest at the Bridge Crossing Commemoration in Selma, addressing the thousands of attendees at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, prior to the annual bridge crossing. The previous year, Vice President Kamala Harris was the special guest. According to Jubilee organizers, plans are still in the works to attract noteworthy presenters to address the theme in these critical times in the nation when Democracy and voting rights are at stake.
The Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee features dozens and dozens of events beginning on Monday, February 26th and running through Sunday, March 3rd. There is something for everyone at this year’s Jubilee! The working kickoff of the Jubilee are Kingian Nonviolence Seminars at the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation led by Civil Rights Legend Dr. Bernard Lafayette. These seminars are open to the public and run from Monday, February 26th, through Thursday, March 1st, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.
The ceremonial kickoff of the Jubilee is the Old Fashioned Mass Meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church on Thursday, February 29th, at 7:00 p.m. Dr. David Peoples, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, is the keynote speaker at the Mass Meeting at Tabernacle, the site of the original Mass Meetings. Dr. Peoples will also be participating with other ministers at the Ministers of Justice Roundtable earlier that day at Tabernacle at 1:00 p.m. The Voting Rights History Bowl takes place at Tipton Middle School from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. that same day.
There will be Education Summits on Thursday, March 1st, and on Friday, March 2nd, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day at Wallace Community College Selma. These and most other events are also free to the public. The Mock Trial at the Dallas County Courthouse, an annual favorite for many, is Friday, March 2nd, from 4:00 to 6;00 p.m. Each year the public participates on juries.
The Original Foot Soldiers share their stories at the Annual Foot Soldier Breakfast on Saturday, March 2nd. at 8:00 a.m. at Selma High School. This is a truly special event with living history being shared and the public encouraged to attend. This year’s Freedom Flame Awards take place later that day at 7:00 p.m. at Selma High School. One of the award recipients is one of “The Tennessee Three,” Tennessee State Representative Gloria Johnson.
The Martin & Coretta King Unity Breakfast kicks off the events of Bloody Sunday on March 3rd. The Unity Breakfast is from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. at Wallace Community College Selma. There will be numerous national Civil Rights Speakers. Those receiving Unity Awards this year include four of the original Freedom Singers and Maria Diarra Keita of Mali, West Africa as well as Hosea Williams, whose daughter will be accepting the award for him posthumously. More information will be released as it develops.