Booker, Sanders to speak at Selma commemoration

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Several Democratic presidential candidates are coming to Selma next weekend for the annual commemoration of the “Bloody Sunday” civil rights march.

Organizers announced Friday that Sen. Bernie Sanders will speak at a unity breakfast on March 3.

Sen. Cory Booker’s campaign said he will speak at the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma that same day.

Event organizers said former U.S. Secretary of HUD Julian Castro and Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is considering a presidential bid, had committed to attend.

Organizers previously announced that former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is also speaking that day.

The annual event often draws national political figures.

On March 7, 1965, African-American protesters were beaten by law enforcement officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The clash helped galvanize support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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