Kamala Harris to visit Selma for anniversary of Bloody Sunday

This weekend marks the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where Alabama state troopers clashed with activists calling for the right to vote for African Americans. US President Kamala Harris is set to travel to Selma, Alabama, in the coming weekend, to commemorate the anniversary of the event.

White House officials said that Harris would be traveling to Selma on March 6 to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in commemoration of the Anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Harris will also be meeting with civil rights leaders and delivering remarks to celebrate the anniversary.

Aside from Harris, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, and Deputy Veterans Affairs Secretary Donald Remy will be in attendance at the event.

This also comes as Harris is leading the Biden administration’s push for voting rights, reiterating the importance of voting as well as calling on Congress to pass voting rights legislation. In her interview on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday, Harris said that the issue remains at the forefront of the administration’s priorities despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Harris also called on Congress once more to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

“The president has said over and over again, and we have made very clear, that this is about protecting America’s democracy against those various states in particular and state legislators and governors who are in a full-on assault on the right of every American who is eligible to actually be able to vote,” said Harris, referring to the restrictive voting laws and efforts by GOP-led legislatures in states following the 2020 elections.

The voting rights bills which have passed the House remain stalled in the Senate as two Democratic Senators: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, joined the unanimous GOP opposition to making changes in the Senate filibuster. A recent attempt by Senate Democrats failed earlier this year.

Regarding the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as it continues to face an attempted invasion by Russian troops, Harris said that there is “so much at stake” from the conflict. While the notion of sending US troops was ruled out, Harris said that the US would continue to send support financially and militarily.