logo
  • Home
  • Reflections
  • Selma
  • The Journey For Justice
  • Epilogue 2020
  • Video
  • Elder Americans and Activism
  • About
  • Contact

THE JOURNEY

America's Journey For Justice

As part of the Commemoration of the Voting Rights Act, on August 1, 2015, the NAACP and its allies organized a march from Selma to Washington D.C. It was called America’s Journey for Justice. The march took over 40 days and covered 1,000 miles, ending at the Lincoln Memorial. The Journey was part of the struggle for voting rights that has been ongoing since the founding of the nation. At first, the right to vote was only for White, male, property owners. Then White-adult men. Later Black men. Then women, but without protections to assure women of color could vote. They were not guaranteed the vote until after 1965. Following this, 18-year olds could vote, the age being reduced from 21 because 18-year olds could be sent to war but not vote.

Entering Washington D.C. After the 1,000-mile Journey, Washington D.C., 2015

Bernie Sanders Joins the Marchers, Washington D.C., 2015

Carrying the Torah, Washington D.C., 2015

They entered D.C. with a twenty-pound Torah that had been passed from marcher to marcher along the 1,000-mile journey. Over 200 Rabbis flew in, one at a time, to one city after another, in order to carry the holy symbol along the entire way.

NAACP Forward, Washington D.C., 2015

Mobilizing Millions for Democracy, Washington D.C., 2015

Justice at the Polls, Washington D.C., 2015

Dick Gregory, Artist and Activist (1932-2017), Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., 2015

Woman with the American Flag, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2015

A Resting Place, Washington D.C., 2015

Cots were set up for the marchers when they completed the rally at the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Hebrew Congregation hosted, and provided food and shelter.

Black Votes Matter, Washington D.C., 2015

Ruth Zalph, pictured at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, marched from her home in North Carolina to D.C., and represented the group, the Raging Grannies.

In Solidarity, Washington, D.C., 2015

After their stop at the Lincoln Memorial, many of the marchers joined in an Interfaith Service at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. It was a diverse group, from many faiths and ethnicities, with atheists and agnostics in attendance, as well.

A Moment of Silence, Senate Lawn. Washington D.C., 2015

After the rally at the Lincoln Memorial, and service at the Temple, the next day, marchers gathered on the Senate lawn. There was a moment of silent prayer, led by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, for a naval veteran and marcher who had died along the Journey. His name was Middle Passage, a name he took to honor those who were stolen, taken into slavery, and shipped to the Northern Hemisphere over a route called the “Middle Passage.”

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Senate Lawn, Washington D.C., 2015

After addressing the crowd, the Representative steered them to the Congress where, later in the day, marchers spoke to legislators about the injustice of voter suppression and income inequality. They also called for an end to deadly, racial violence, and urged that new voter protection laws be passed.

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Senate Lawn, Washington, D.C., 2015

Rosanell Eaton, Senate Lawn, Washington, D.C., 2015

Rosanell Eaton was the 95-year old plaintiff in a case challenging North Carolina’s voter suppression.

A Fusion Movement, Senate Lawn, Washington D.C., 2015

Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, Washington D.C., 2015

Reverend Barber is the leader of the Moral Mondays Movement, and the new Poor People's Campaign.

Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Washington, D.C., 2015

<
>

© 2020 FOOT SOLDIERS FOR JUSTICE All rights reserved to Stephanie Glass Solomon.

Web support by Mo Alsaedi