Thousands of people from across the United States gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday for the All Roads Lead to the South rally, protesting the recent Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v Callais that significantly weakened protections against voting discrimination. The event, held outside the Alabama state capitol building, marked the same plaza where the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches took place.
Steven L Reed, the first Black mayor of Montgomery, addressed the crowd: “We’re here, Montgomery, not at a stopping point, but at a starting point.” The rally was organised by a coalition of national and local civic engagement groups, following the Supreme Court’s decision that allowed Republican-led states to redraw voting maps in ways that dilute Black political power.
Tennessee and Florida have already enacted new maps, while Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia are expected to follow. Voting activists from affected states, along with US senators Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock, and representatives Terri Sewell, Shomari Figures and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, spoke to mobilise attendees. “They may draw some racist maps, but we are the south,” said Tennessee state senator Charlane Oliver.
Spontaneous chants of “vote, vote, vote” erupted throughout the event, which also featured gospel songs and prayers, reminiscent of the Black church’s role in the civil rights movement. For many, the cause was personal: “My grandmama, my momma – our ancestors did not cross that bridge for this,” said Montgomery resident Carole Burton.
The day began in Selma with a prayer service at Tabernacle Baptist Church and a silent walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” violence. Attendees then travelled by bus to Montgomery, joining thousands more. More than 50 satellite events were held across the country for those unable to travel.
“Our task is bigger than defending the past,” said Rukia Lumumba of the Mississippi VRA Rapid Response Coalition. “Our task is to build a democracy worthy of the people who bled to create it.”
