Ten South Berwick residents joined people from their sister city of Tuskegee, Ala., on Sunday to walk with thousands of other Americans across an historic bridge in Selma, Ala., that holds the agony of American’s racial history and the promise of the Civil Rights Movement.
“I came home with a renewed sense of optimism,” said Leigh Peake of Old Fields Road. “Thousands of people from many backgrounds came together to say that voting is the way we will prevent that culture from tyrannizing the country again.”
The crowd crossed the bridge to commemorate the day in 1965 known as Bloody Sunday, when state troopers beat hundreds of Black people peacefully marching for voting rights. The brutal attacks led to national support for the Voting Rights Act.
The trip by South Berwick residents to Alabama was organized by the Common Ground Tuskegee-South Berwick Sister City project, which began in 2017 as a way to cross racial divides, and has led to numerous visits and friendships between the two communities.
“The most meaningful thing for me [in the trip] was walking across that historic bridge in solidarity with our friends from Tuskegee to protest the efforts currently underway by some to roll back the clock and deny the basic right to vote,” said David McDermott of South Berwick, who organized the trip.
Before crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a state senator and Ku Klux Klan leader, the South Berwick visitors attended a service in the historic Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Selma, where Tuskegee Mayor Tony Haygood was guest speaker for the service.
“The alarm has sounded and now is the time to act,” said Haygood, two days before primaries were held across the country.
Haygood, elected president this year of the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors, was presented by Selma Mayor James Perkins, pastor at the church, with the 10th annual Courageous Free Thinkers Award, which is given by the Friends of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and was won last year by U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina..
Rep. Terri Sewall, the first Black woman from Alabama to serve in Congress, and Rep. Steven Horseford of Nevada, head of the Black Congressional Caucus, also addressed the nearly full church on the importance of voting.
Voting “is the most sacred non-violent tool we have to advance our interests,” Horseford told the audience, which included about 20 Black mayors from Alabama.
The other days in Tuskegee, the South Berwick crew visited the Tuskegee University campus and toured the historic sites of Tuskegee, including driving by the homes of musician Lionel Richie and the late university professor Charles A. Gomillion. Gomillion was the plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to the Voting Rights Act, which has been weakened since a 2013 Supreme Court decision.
The group also saw Samkee America, a $128 million car parts factory that a Korean company is building in Tuskegee. CEO ChiHwan Kim led the tour of the plant, which initially will employee 174 people, a major infusion into the Tuskegee economy. All parts manufactured there will use recycled aluminum, reducing energy use by 95%, Kim said.
In addition to learning about the history and economic development of Tuskegee, the Maine visitors spent time socializing with their Tuskegee hosts, a key part of the evolving relationship.
“I have returned from Alabama with many vivid impressions,” said Sandy Agrafiotis of Emery’s Bridge Road, describing the “warmth, humor and generosity” of the people who hosted the Mainers. “I am grateful for our sister city relationship and for the cherished friendships we have formed.”
Karin Hopkins of Tuskegee, one of four local hosts and a longtime sister city advocate, suggested the visit from Maine residents furthered the mission of the sister city project. “Once again we have eviscerated the lines that separate us and come together in the spirit of mutual respect,” Hopkins said. “The moments we shared during this visit epitomize the essence of the sister city relationship and represent our search for common ground.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.