From our colleague, Rabbi Amy Eilberg:
On March 9th, a delegation of eight colleagues and several loved ones joined a group of 200 Jews organized by NCJW to attend the 60th anniversary of the March from Selma and infamous “Bloody Sunday.” That terrible day, when marchers such as John Lewis were brutally attacked by Alabama police and other segregationists, was a turning point in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Movingly, we were joined on this journey by Rabbi Danny Pressman, whose father, Rabbi Jacob Pressman, was one of the rabbis who marched with Dr. King and Prof. Heschel in Selma later in March 1965.
Our Jewish group was inspired by powerful messages from long-time Jewish social justice leaders such as Ruth Messenger (former head of AJWS), Heather Booth (a long-time outstanding community organizer) and Nancy Kaufman (retired CEO of NCJW). They all exhorted us to refuse to give in to despair in our own time, but rather to emulate our forebears who created substantial change against significant odds before us.
Thus, the journey was a sacred commemoration of those who risked their lives to march in 1965 and a celebration of their success. But it was also an opportunity for us to inspire one another to stand up together to fight for justice and democracy in our own time.
We will be adding additional reflections from participants in the coming days.