SELMA, Ala. (AP) – Fewer and fewer people are voting in Selma, Alabama. And to many, that is particularly heartbreaking.
They lament that almost six decades after Black demonstrators on the city’s Edmond Pettus Bridge risked their lives for the right to cast ballots, voting in predominantly Black Selma and surrounding Dallas County has steadily declined. Turnout in 2020 was under 57%, among the worst in the state.
Rep. Terri Sewell, a Black Democrat whose district includes her hometown of Selma, said Friday she was shocked to learn of the decline, reported by The Associated Press.
“You would think that Selma and Dallas County, we, of all places, should know the importance of voting in every election,” Sewell said in an interview. Voter apathy is a problem, she said.
Thousands will gather March 6 for this year’s reenactment of the bridge crossing to honor the foot soldiers of that “Bloody Sunday” in 1965. Downtown will resemble a huge street festival during the event, known as the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, with thousands of visitors, blaring music and vendors selling food and T-shirts.