Bloody Sunday commemoration continues in Selma

President Barack Obama, fourth from left, walks holding hands with Amelia Boynton Robinson, 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 the landmark event of the civil rights movement, Saturday, March 7, 2015. At far left is Sasha Obama and at far right is former first lady Laura Bush. Adelaide Sanford also sits in a wheelchair. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) President Barack Obama, fourth from left, walks holding hands with Amelia Boynton Robinson, 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 the landmark event of the civil rights movement, Saturday, March 7, 2015. At far left is Sasha Obama and at far right is former first lady Laura Bush. Adelaide Sanford also sits in a wheelchair. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

By Associated Press March 8, 2015 3 min read

SELMA, Ala. (AP) – The Bloody Sunday 50th anniversary commemoration continues Sunday with a series of events in Selma before a group retraces the steps that helped secure equal voting rights 50 years ago.

Sunday’s events are expected to include church services, film screenings and a pre-march rally at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Police beat and tear-gassed marchers at the foot of the bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965 in an ugly spasm of violence that shocked the nation. The attack on demonstrators preceded the Selma-to-Montgomery march, which occurred two weeks later. Both helped build momentum for congressional approval of the Voting Rights Act later that year.

A march from Selma to Montgomery in remembrance of the journey the demonstrators took is scheduled to begin Monday morning and culminate with a rally at the Alabama state Capitol on Friday afternoon.

Thousands gathered Saturday in the town of roughly 20,000 to hear speeches from leaders including President Barack Obama and Georgia Rep. John Lewis – an Alabama native who was among the demonstrators that was attacked by law enforcement on a march for equal voting rights.