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Reenacting Bloody Sunday march in Las Vegas

Posted at 5:25 AM, Mar 01, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-01 16:32:54-05

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is celebrating their 107 years of service to communities across the country by reenacting the "Bloody Sunday" march from Selma, Alabama.

The march pays homage to the 600 activists who planned to walk 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery in support of equal voting rights for African Americans, but were stopped short by police who tear gassed and beat the group into disbursing.

That event, otherwise known as "Bloody Sunday," took place on March 7, 1965 -- 55 years ago this month -- and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.

March 1 is the nationwide day of remembrance for "Bloody Sunday."

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Alabama State troopers swing billy clubs to break up civil rights voting march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 07, 1965. Source: Associated Press

The violence of that day was broadcast nationwide, shocking the country and pressuring congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that same year.

Delta Sigma Theta was founded in 1913 by 22 African American women at Howard University and has focused it's philanthropic work on issues impacting the African American community for more than a century.

The Las Vegas march will begin at the St. James the Apostle Church at 1920 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at noon and end at the Martin Luther King Jr. statue near Carey Avenue.

The public is welcomed to join in the march.

The Las Vegas march coincides with the national commemoration happening in Selma.