50 Years Later African-Americans See New Voting Rights Battles Ahead

Washington Informer March 7, 2015

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In this March 7, 1965 file photo, S.W. Boynton is carried and another injured man tended to after they were injured when state police broke up a demonstration march in Selma, Ala. Boynton, wife of a real estate and insurance man, has been a leader in civil rights efforts. The day, which became known as "Bloody Sunday," is widely credited for galvanizing the nation's leaders and ultimately yielded passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (AP Photo/File)

SELMA, ALABAMA (VOA News) – Thousands of people will gather to mark the 50th anniversary of a historic civil rights march on March 7th in the small southern U.S. city of Selma, Alabama. In 1965, dozens of people were seriously injured during the event known as “Bloody Sunday,” after police attacked African-American demonstrators demanding voting rights.

“The vote is definitely more vulnerable than it had been since 1965 there’s no doubt about that in my mind,” said Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders.

Without the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Hank Sanders believes he would not be sitting in his chair. “It is getting worse every time they try to find some new way to make it harder to vote, rather than easier to vote,” he stated.

The longtime Alabama state senator credits the voting power of blacks in the South for his string of successes at the ballot box. But 50 years later he is worried about new efforts to restrict who can vote.