WASHINGTON, DC – This Friday, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ01) will join a bipartisan Congressional delegation to visit Selma, Alabama and mark the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march that ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act. The pilgrimage will be led by Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.  

The Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama first started in 1998 and this year’s trip will include the largest group of lawmakers ever. The delegation will visit civil rights landmarks in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma before joining President Barack Obama to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when state troopers attacked marchers trying to cross Edmund Pettus Bridge into Alabama’s capital. The trip serves as a constant reminder of the painful history that called for and led to the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Assemblyman Gilbert “Whip” Wilson of New Jersey’s 5th Legislative District will join Congressman Norcross. 

“I look forward to joining Congressman John Lewis, my colleagues from both parties, and my friend Assemblyman Whip Wilson to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Selma marches that changed the course of history and paved the way for the Voting Rights Act,” said Congressman Norcross. “In defiance of segregation and repression, thousands of people walked the 54-mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery. As we walk in their steps 50 years later, we can celebrate how far we’ve come as a society and also recognize how far we still must go. Let’s truly honor the legacy of the Selma marchers by continuing to stand up for justice and equality and by working together to protect and strengthen our great democracy.”

“It is a great honor to be invited by Congressman Norcross to join him during this pilgrimage. Never could I have imagined when watching Bloody Sunday unfold in my youth, that I would be traveling to such an historic site as a New Jersey State Assemblyman,” said Assemblyman Wilson. “These are the men and women who made the big sacrifices, whose lesson we must never forget. People like Congressman John Lewis, who was there and still bears the scars. I am privileged to meet with him on this trip. They had more courage than I ever could, and did what I could not have. They paved the way for the changes we see today, and I am standing on their shoulders.”

For more information on the 2015 Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage, please visit www.faithandpolitics.org.