Reminiscent of the movie Footloose, youth in Selma will not be allowed to dance on the Edmund Pettus Bridge tomorrow in conjunction with a 45th anniversary celebration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This story is also associated with those that we have been writing over the past week regarding racial tension in Selma
From a press release about Project Dance
Mayor George Evans, of Selma, Alabama has censored a youth unity dance
from the SCLC’s Voting Rights program this Friday, August 6th
solidifying the Edmund Pettus Bridge’s place in history as a symbol of
oppression rather than the unity and progress the youth say they have
in mind.
Kylie Jones, 20, Project Dance visionary, started the project to help
change the image of the Edmund Pettus Bridge from one of brutality and
inequality to one of unity and progress. Her vision was having
hundreds of people – young and old, black and white – dance in unity
and love on the bridge to the popular song "Jai Ho" from the
award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Watch this video
"I have a vision of Dr. King’s dream coming alive as hundreds dance
together on the very ground where civil rights foot soldiers marched
for freedom 45 years ago. It was my hope that this dance could be the
redemption of Bloody Sunday. Instead, it has become my generation’s
fight for freedom," said Jones.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) had scheduled the
Jai Ho dance as part of their Gospel and Praise Celebration for the
Right to Vote as a Victory Dance celebrating the signing of the Voting
Rights Act. Mayor George Evans has told the SCLC that while he
supports the celebration of the Voting Rights Act, he will not allow
the youth to dance on the bridge.
On Friday, August 6 at 12:00 pm, the youth have organized a protest
march over the bridge and dance on the other side—in Memorial
Park—which honors activists from the Voting Rights Movement that took
place in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Over 300 protesters are expected.
When the organizers originally approached the mayor about the dance,
he supported the effort for 10 months, only to deny their dream just a
week before the scheduled date in May. At the time, he said he did not
have the authority to close the bridge. However, he has agreed to
close the bridge for the SCLC’s program, which celebrates the Voting
Rights Act that was signed into law on the same date (August 6th) in
1965, but continues to deny the youth access to the bridge for their
unity dance.
The Youth have been protesting all week asking for permission to dance. However, Mayor Evans remains steadfast in his opposition to dancing across the bridge. Many I've talked to believe that he is succumbing to political pressure. Three days after Cecil Williamson became Council President, Evans withdrew his support for the dance. Now he's allowing the bridge to be close, but with the stipulation that the dance is not allowed on the bridge.
Here's a video on the Project Dance website about the dance
Maybe at the 11th hour the Mayor will allow the youth to dance across the Bridge. I haven't the slightest idea as to why the dance is so threatening other than the fact that it unites youth from all races and promotes equality. Change is often met by resistance. But that resistance is in return met by forces of change that cannot be ignored. These youth should be praised and not hindered in their effort to bring people together in a celebration of this historic legislation signed 45 years ago.