"Bridges to Cross: Building Bridges" March, Saturday, August 8th

On Saturday, August 8, 2015, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency co-sponsored the “Bridges to Cross: Building Bridges” march across the Roebling Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The symbolic march across the Roebling Bridge honored the sacrifices made when 2,000 people set out from Selma on March 21, 1965, protected by U.S. Army troops ...and the Alabama National Guard that President Lyndon B. Johnson had ordered under federal control. Nearly 40,000 supporters met the marchers in Montgomery, where they gathered in front of the state capital to hear Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other speakers including Ralph Bunche address the crowd. On August 6, 1965, during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement, the Voting Rights Act—the landmark piece of federal legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in voting—was signed into law by President Johnson.

Thank you to our community partners: the League of Women Voters, who provided voting registration materials, the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, the NAACP and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.

Thank you to all of our sponsors: Michael W. Hawkins and Dinsmore, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Pomeroy, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, PNC, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, The Enquirer and the American Red Cross – Cincinnati Chapter.

Thank you to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Herald, WLWT, Fox19 & WVXU 91.7 for covering this effort.

Thank you to Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, Covington Mayor Sherry Carran, State Representative Alicia Reece & Senator Cecil Thomas for giving remarks at the program following the march.

Thank you to our keynote speaker, local Freedom Rider, Betty Daniels Rosemond & to our youth panelists who are shaping the future for a Greater Cincinnati.

And thank you to everyone who came out and supported the “Bridges to Cross: Building Bridges” commemorative march and program. The “I March for _____” response cards are being turned into action items by local Cincinnati agencies, who will reconvene throughout the year and lead community discussions inspired by these completed response cards. More information to come.

http://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gallery/news/2015/08/08/building-bridges-50th-anniversary-of-voting-rights-act/31341133/