A look back at Bloody Sunday’s 50th anniversary


To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UM News revisits its 2015 trip to Selma, Alabama, to cover the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches to protest racial segregation and support the rights of African Americans to vote.

Retired bishop Woodie White and his students from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, along with other United Methodists, joined an estimated crowd of 80,000 who packed Selma, Alabama, March 7-8, 2015, for a weekend of events including a speech by President Barack Obama. The trip culminated with a march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where a violent confrontation between police and peaceful marchers occurred March 8, 1965. The clash helped bring about passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

See images and hear audio from the day in video above.

Read more about the anniversary march in our story, United Methodists Return for Bloody Sunday 50th.


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
Bishops
Council of Bishops President Rubén Saenz Jr. preaches about the power of the Lord’s Prayer in a video address during the start of the Council of Bishops’ fall meeting. The episcopal leaders will gather online through Nov. 6 for a week centered on worship, prayer and next steps following the Leadership Gathering in Calgary. Screen shot courtesy of the Council of Bishops by UM News.

Bishops urged to pray God’s future into being

Council of Bishops President Rubén Saenz Jr. preached about the power of the Lord’s Prayer as the bishops joined online for their first meeting since the Leadership Gathering offered ideas for The United Methodist Church of tomorrow.
Church History
Holding a banner for the Bishop Richard Allen Way street renaming celebration Oct. 7 at Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church in Philadelphia are (from left): the Rev. Carolyn Cavaness, pastor of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal  Church; Yvonne Studevan, an Allen descendant; AME Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green Sr.; United Methodist Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi; and the Rev. William Wilson Sr., pastor of St. George’s. Surrounding them are other descendants and members of the Prince Hall Masons lodge named for Bishop Allen. Photo by John W. Coleman, UM News.

United Methodists help honor AME Church founder

Philadelphia renamed the street in front of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church as Bishop Richard Allen Way, honoring the formerly enslaved Methodist preacher who founded the denomination in 1816.
General Church
Bishop Ande Emmanuel of Nigeria (right) leads a celebratory dance line to the song “We Are Marching in the Light of God” at the close of the United Methodist Leadership Gathering on Oct. 24 at Knox United Church in Calgary, Canada. After long hours of small-group discussion, Leadership Gathering participants revealed their recommendations for The United Methodist Church yet to be. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Gathering offers 16 ideas for church future

After long hours of small-group discussion, Leadership Gathering participants revealed their recommendations for The United Methodist Church yet to be.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2026 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved