Voting rights advocates gather in Selma for ‘All Roads Lead to the South’ protest and bridge walk
Organizers said the demonstrations were among the largest voting-rights mobilizations in the South in recent years, as critics warned of weaker federal protections.
- On Saturday, May 16, 2026, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Selma, Alabama, for a prayer march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge as part of the 'All Roads Lead to the South' National Day of Action for Voting Rights.
- The mobilizations followed a recent Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which critics argue weakens Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by limiting race's role in redistricting challenges.
- High-Profile figures, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senators Cory Booker and Dr. Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Bernice King, joined the event, linking current redistricting battles to historical Jim Crow-era voter suppression.
- At the rally in Montgomery, crowds gathered near the Alabama Capitol where chants of "we won't go back" echoed, emphasizing participants' view that voting rights rollback is an active, real-time threat.
- Activists warn these legal challenges could dilute Black voting power across Southern states, highlighting ongoing questions whether the Voting Rights Act still holds meaningful force six decades after its passage.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Activists recall ‘Bloody Sunday’ protest in new fight for voting rights - Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group
By Bill Barrow Contributing Writer MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — In 1965, Black Americans peacefully demonstrated for voting rights and were beaten by Alabama state troopers — in a protest horrifyingly known as “Bloody Sunday” — before returning two weeks later to complete their march under federal protection. Keith Odom was a toddler then. Now 62 years old, the union man and grandfather of three retraced some of their final steps. This past weekend, …
‘History is powerful’: Civil rights veterans call Selma key in current voting rights fight
Hank Sanders and Faya Rose Toure sat a few rows from the front at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma as Toure held her cell phone steady to capture the impassioned words, prayers and mini sermons from those standing on the pulpit.
On the voting rights trail, bus riders to Montgomery retrace old steps while fighting a new fight
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In 1965, Black Americans peacefully demonstrated for voting rights and were beaten by Alabama state troopers before returning two weeks later to complete their march under federal
Same Bridge New Fight: Thousands Rally After SCOTUS Cuts Black Voting Rights
Source: Jason Davis / Getty – A general view during the rally at Alabama State House on May 16, 2026 in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 16, thousands of Black voters gathered in Montgomery, Ala., for the All Roads Lead to the South rally, a powerful demonstration focused on protecting Black voting power in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Louisiana v. Callais, according to The Guardian. Photos taken by photographer Jaso…
Bus riders to Montgomery retrace old steps while renewing the fight for voting rights
Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In 1965, Black Americans peacefully demonstrated for voting rights and were beaten by Alabama state troopers before returning two weeks later to complete their march under federal protection. Keith Odom was a toddler then. Now 62 years old, the union man and grandfather of three retraced some of their final steps. On Saturday, he came from Aiken…
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