DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement on the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday:

“56 years ago, the late John Lewis led hundreds of activists across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Their mission was simple: to demand the full voting rights they deserved and to force our nation to live up to its founding ideals. The brutality they endured on that bridge was broadcast across the country in black and white. Those images are etched in our national conscience: flying fists and billy clubs, tear gas and baseball bats. Ultimately, the bravery they showed and the blood they shed led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — and a little over half a century later, we are still fighting to defend their legacy against a Republican onslaught of voter suppression measures designed with communities of color in mind.

“Democrats won’t let this stand, which is why our members in the House just passed the For the People Act. Our party believes democracy works better when more people can make their voices heard, not fewer. We know that the right to vote is the right that protects all others — that it is the core of our democracy. So we must keep fighting. We must keep marching. We must heed the everlasting call of John Lewis and protect the right to vote for every American, no matter their race or background.”