Fifty years ago this week in the state of Alabama, more than 500 marchers began a 54-mile trek from Selma to Montgomery to take a stand against the systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans in communities all over the state and across the South.  The peaceful marchers were met by police in riot gear at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The dramatic images from what is now known as Bloody Sunday helped provide a catalyst for the passage of the bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Voting Rights Act would become one of the most successful civil rights laws in American history, an indispensable tool for protecting the right to vote and combating voter discrimination into the 21st century. But the legacy of Selma has been undercut by the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, which gutted the Voting Rights Act.  Voters in many states faced restrictions at the polls In 2014, contributing to historically low voter turnout, especially among women, minorities, young voters, and the elderly.

That’s why on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, AAUW is calling on members of Congress to support the Voting Rights Amendment Act.