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Alabama march traces path of the civil rights movement while gearing up for new fight

View original article → May 18, 2026, 9:01 PM

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Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Alabama march traces path of the civil rights movement while gearing up for new fight A civil rights protest in Alabama this weekend was organized to kick off a summer of voter mobilization and civic action across the South. National Alabama march traces path of the civil rights movement while gearing up for new fight May 18, 20266:43 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From Gulf States Newsroom By Joseph King Alabama march traces path of the civil rights movement while gearing up for new fight Listen · 2:02 2:02 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5823705/nx-s1-9774357" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript A civil rights protest in Alabama this weekend was organized to kick off a summer of voter mobilization and civic action across the South. Sponsor Message LEILA FADEL, HOST: Participants who arrived in Alabama for a civil rights march said they wanted to defend the 1965 Voting Rights Act that has now been gutted. Joseph King with the Gulf States Newsroom reports from Montgomery. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: And we are fired up and ready to go. So when I say fired up, you say ready to go. Fired up. UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Ready to go. JOSEPH KING, BYLINE: Montgomery is not only Alabama's capital. It was also the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. In 80-degree weather on Saturday, people held signs and chanted during a national day of action called All Roads Lead to the South. Khayla Doby is an organizer with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition. She traveled to Alabama because she says there's an attack on majority-Black districts across the country. KHAYLA DOBY: We know that when elected officials try to attack our district maps and try to pick their voters instead of letting the people choose who represent us, that that impacts the future that we will all inherit. KING: Saturday started with prayer at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma - a place where activists first met in 1963 to organize the Civil Rights Movement. From there, people marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge - another important symbol of the civil rights struggle. Then they packed up and headed towards Montgomery. Saturday's rally was organized by over 200 groups in response to the recent Louisiana v. Callais decision by the Supreme Court that allows legislators to redraw congressional maps without considering the race of its voters. Out of the seven Alabama districts, five are represented by white men. The other two have Black congresspeople. Doby, who is 28, says part of her mission is to encourage young people to join the fight for voter protection. DOBY: If our votes didn't matter, they wouldn't be coming for them. So that's why we're here today, and that's why we're fighting back in Georgia as well. KING: In Montgomery, New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the next generation of leaders are needed. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: You shouldn't wait for instruction, but you should just go out there and organize. You are leaders in your own right. KING: Alabama will have a special election in August. States - including South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia - recently joined a list of other states considering redrawing their voting maps. For NPR News, I'm Joseph King. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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