Selma to Montgomery marches

===Commemorative marches===
Since 1965, many marches have commemorated the events of Bloody Sunday, usually held on or around the anniversary of the original event, and currently known as the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/news/2018/12/alabamas-iconic-civil-rights-town-now-the-fastest-shrinking-city-in-the-state.html|title=Alabama's iconic civil rights town now the fastest shrinking city in the state|last=Garrison|first=Greg|date=2018-12-16|website=al.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-05}}</ref> In March 1975, [[Coretta Scott King]], the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., led four thousand marchers commemorating Bloody Sunday.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Christian Herald|last1=Klopsch|first1=Louis|last2=Talmage|first2=Thomas De Witt|last3=Sandison|first3=George Henry|date=1975|publisher=Christian Herald}}</ref> On its 30th anniversary, Rep. [[John Lewis]], former president of [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] and a prominent activist during the Selma to Montgomery marches, said, "It's gratifying to come back and see the changes that have occurred; to see the number of registered voters and the number of Black elected officials in the state of Alabama to be able to walk with other members of Congress that are African Americans."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bTkDAAAAMBAJ&q="edmund+pettus+bridge"&pg=PA22|title=Jet |via= Google Books|date=1995|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|access-date=2010-08-22}}</ref>

On the 40th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, over 10,000 people, including Lewis, again marched across Edmund Pettus Bridge.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QrUDAAAAMBAJ&q="edmund+pettus+bridge"&pg=PA6|title=Jet |via=Google Books|date=2005|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|access-date=2010-08-22}}</ref> Also, in 1996, the Olympic torch made its way across the bridge with its carrier, [[Andrew Young]], along with many public officials, to symbolize how far the South has come. When Young spoke at the [[Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church (Selma, Alabama)|Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church]] as part of the torch ceremony, he said, "We couldn't have gone to Atlanta with the Olympic Games if we hadn't come through Selma a long time ago."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/21819607.html?dids=21819607:21819607&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+01,+1996&author=Thomas+Heath&pub=The+Washington+Post+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=After+Three+Decades,+Selma+Sees+the+Light;+Torch+Crosses+Bridge+Between+Peace,+Violence&pqatl=google|title=After Three Decades, Selma Sees the Light; Torch Crosses Bridge Between Peace, Violence|last=Heath|first=Thomas|date=1996-07-01|access-date=2010-08-22|publisher=Pqasb.pqarchiver.com|archive-date=October 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026075630/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/21819607.html?dids=21819607:21819607&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+01,+1996&author=Thomas+Heath&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=After+Three+Decades,+Selma+Sees+the+Light%3B+Torch+Crosses+Bridge+Between+Peace,+Violence&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 2015, on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, U.S. President [[Barack Obama]], the first African-American U.S. president, delivered [[Barack Obama Selma 50th anniversary speech|a speech at the foot of the bridge]] and then, along with former U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], Representative John Lewis, and Civil Rights Movement activists such as [[Amelia Boynton Robinson]] (at Obama's side in a wheelchair), led a march across the bridge. An estimated 40,000 people attended to commemorate the 1965 march, and to reflect on and speak about its impact on history and continuing efforts to address and improve U.S. civil rights.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/us/obama-in-selma-for-edmund-pettus-bridge-attack-anniversary.html|title=Obama, at Selma Memorial, Says, 'We Know the March Is Not Yet Over'|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|date=March 7, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 10, 2015|last2=Fausset|first2=Richard|issue=March 7, 2015}}</ref>

After John Lewis died in July 2020, he managed to cross the bridge one last time when his casket, which was carried by a horse-drawn caisson, crossed along the same route he walked during the [[Selma to Montgomery marches#"Bloody Sunday" events|Bloody Sunday]] march.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/us/selma-john-lewis-memorial.html|title=Selma Helped Define John Lewis's Life. In Death, He Returned One Last Time.|first=Rick|last=Rojas|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 26, 2020|access-date=July 28, 2020}}</ref>