Edmund Pettus served in the c*nfederate army and as a Grand Dr*gon of the white sup*emacist group that-shall-not-be-named.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge, that John Lewis and many other Civil Rights Titans walked across in Selma was named after a racist Southern “leader.”

There have been calls for the removal of Pettus’ name, from the bridge for many years. Today, there are many calls for it to be renamed for John Lewis.

On March 7, 1965, Lewis and many others were beaten, by police officers and s*premacists after marching across the bridge.

What I also want us to remember is one of the inciting incidents for this protest.

An unarmed 26 y.o. Black man was participating in a march in his city, and he was beaten by police and fatally shot by an Alabama police officer.

No, that’s not a 2020 headline. It’s from 1965.

His murderer, James Bernard Fowler, was not indicted.

Still not a 2020 headline.

John Lewis was 25 when Jackson was murdered. Jackson was 26. He was in the pews of a Marion, AL church, 3 hours from his hometown of Troy, AL, when he listened to Rev. MLK Jr. deliver Jackson’s eulogy.

I could write here: “Can you imagine how Lewis felt?”

But I don’t have to imagine it.

I’m from a generation that continues to bear witness to our reflections being murdered. Ain’t we all?

I’m a student of injustice.
I’ve learned that our deaths go unheard, as our killers walk free.

After the shooting, the officer that killed Jackson was reassigned. He enlisted in the army and received two Purple Hearts. In 2005, he finally admitted to the murder of Jimmie Lee, was indicted in 2007 (42 years later), and was given six months in prison—released a month early.

While it’s important that we commemorate our leaders, activists, and forefolx, so that our children can have sacred ground to learn their stories...

Justice is a monument, too.
We are still dying.
We are still marching in the streets.
We are still waiting for accountability.

That’s sacred ground, too.
That’s solid ground.

That’s a foundation for an upright walk.

#GeorgeFloyd
#BreonnaTaylor
#AhmaudArbery
#ElijahMcClain
#AtatianaJefferson
#AuraRosser
#StephonClark
#BothamJean
#PhilandoCastile
#AltonSterling
#MichelleCusseaux