edmund pettus bridge

Historic bridge that everyone should learn about! Informative interpretive signage. The bridge should keep its name so we can learn from our mistakes.

Drove over from Montgomery so saw the reverse initial view. Came across as austere and quite ordinary, though challenging in its steep rise.Eerie in a forbidding way and actually easy to imagine the terrible tensions all those years ago

Hallowed ground and the site of the bloody beatings, billy clubs, tear gas, and the tromping of horses' hooves on the bodies of protesters under the realm of Police Chief James Clark and the very first major civil rights event that shocked the nation from its segregationist stupor.This bridge, fittingly named after a Confederate soldier, and a Ku Klax Klan senior leader, was the site of Bloody Sunday when protesters marched to protest the lack of reprisal against white supremacists who had killed a black man a few days before. The bridge was on the start of a march from Selma - a poor city in Alabama to the state capital Montgomery along a highway. The bridge on the outskirts of Selma was the only distance that the protesters were able to cover before they were beaten back by the police. We were there at the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and marched up the bridge and experienced that same trepidation as we approached the highest point on the middle of the bridge where we looked down to see flashing lights, police and large crowds at the other end of the bridge. The only difference was that in 2015 these were police controlling traffic from coming into the area and the crowds were fellow marchers who had reached the other end of the bridge. But still...Though very ordinary, it looks sinister from all the misdeeds that it has witnessed. The rivets are rusting, the sign is still bold and in relief shouting the name of Edmund Pettus - the state senator who stood for the outrages and laws that kept Selma and Alabama and the entire South trapped in slavery and the United States in hypocrisy.The bridge itself is very ordinary but its history makes it one of the most interesting sites in America, especially for anyone who is knowledgeable about the struggle for civil rights and equality and fairness in the USA. Without the narrative, it is just a bridge. With the story of the three Selma marches it is a piece of American history.

We were here for the 50th Jubilee celebration of the Bloody Sunday March. It was one of the most moving events in my life. It looks like a very plain, ordinary bridge. But when you reflect on the blood that was shed on that bridge by those who believed in the right to vote, the bridge takes on an iconic status

We made a detour to visit this historic site and glad we did, two days after the 50th anniversary of the march. The surrounding area has fallen on hard times as others have noted. I suppose it is all part of the tale of civil rights history. There is an interpretation centre across the street by National Parks, worth a visit.

Yes, this is a bridge, and the area around it is not that great with an aura of abandonment and disrepair. But to really appreciate what happened in this country in the 1960's, and how the events at this spot transformed a country, you should see it for yourself. Remember, this bridge was named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, and it's engraved was intended as a lasting insult by it's builders as it faces the majority black city. It is a lasting reminder of how the will and courage of 600 people, in the face of brutality and adversity, could change the mindset of a nation and ensure equality for all. I was recently at the 50th Anniversary Jubilee when President Obama spoke, and had the opportunity to talk with a participant from the 1965 event about their experience. During the speeches we all were reminded by one speaker that the bridge is also a metaphor, and that we all have our own bridge to cross in life. Yes, learn about it from a book, but understand it from being there.

Selma is well worth a visit. There are the events of March 1965 to trace but the town itself has t been brutalised. Much of the historical architecture is in tact. Hopefully over the years there will be more accommodation in restored buildings downtown.

Anyone who know anything about Civil Rights history can't help but be deeply moved by seeing this iconic bridge for the first time. It's just a bridge--- but, oh my, it represents so much!

Decided to visit this landmark while traveling through Montgomery. The site did not live up to the media portrayal. The site is not maintained with abandoned buildings at the base. It looked and felt so unsafe, we quickly walked across the bridge for fear of getting mugged or vehicle burglarized. Since its free, guess in Selma, you get what you pay for.

This is awful. You would think they would take better care of this town. I'm worried I'd get shot if I got out to look around near the bridge.

Site of the brutal police attack on peaceful marchers. Quite appalling that it still bears the name of a Ku Klux Klan leader.

It just takes a few minutes to stop and walk across or under this historic bridge. Be sure to read about in on the internet to understand it's significance in our Civil Rights history.

You can walk the bridge if you desire. From the visitor center side, walk under the bridge for some great pics of the bridge and the river. National Park interpretive center is just before you cross the bridge. Selma is a beautiful city.

Reading about history is a pleasure but it brings it more to lik=fe when you can visit where events took place. Allows you to get a feeling for what it was like.

across the bridge is a run down ghetto. there are nice people that live there but when its a bridge festival going . you dont want to be there