UUA President Marches for Civil Rights in Boston

Click any image below to see a larger version:

William Sinkford and Byron Rushing. Photo by Chris Walton.

John Lewis. Photo by Ellen Shub . All rights reserved.

Sinkford with marchers from the UU Urban Ministry. Photo by Ellen Shub . All rights reserved.

On Sunday, October 30th, UUA President William G. Sinkford joined Georgia congressman John Lewis, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, and over 2,000 participants as they marched from Roxbury's First Church (UU) to the Boston Common in support of voting rights. The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities helped to present the Retracing the Struggle for Voting Rights Act March  which re-enacted the march from Selma to Montgomery that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 2.5 mile march stepped off from Dudley Square and ended with speeches on the Boston Common, including remarks from Sinkford.

Sinkford, who marched with a large UU contingent behind the banner of the UU Urban Ministry, spoke of the legacy of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks, who died last week, and Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. James Reeb, who was attacked in Selma in March, 1965, and died from his injuries. Sinkford called on the crowd to remember Parks and Reeb not as individual agents, but rather as members of a larger community dedicated to justice and equal rights. He called on those gathered to form a new "community of resistance" in support of civil rights in the United States.

The "Retracing the Struggle" weekend was co-sponsored by organizations including the Unitarian Universalist Association, the UU Urban Ministry, and Kings Chapel.

For further information:

• Information on "Retracing the Struggle" and UU involvement
• Press release  on "Retracing the Struggle" events

Media Coverage:

• 10/31/05: Boston Globe: "Stride for stride: Thousands mark the historic civil rights marches of Boston and Selma, Ala."  by Adrienne Samuels
• 10/31/05: Boston Herald: "A walk to remember: Hub recalls MLK anti-segregation march"  by Brian Ballou
• 10/29/05: Boston Globe: "Friends on the March"  by Bella English
• 10/23/05: Boston Globe: "In civil rights march replay, will they step up to 2005 struggle?"  by Darren Sands

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100