Barrow, Augusta Pastor to Participate in Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage

February 27, 2013

WASHINGTON—This weekend, U.S. Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) will participate in the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage in Alabama. The Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage is hosted by Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) and the Faith & Politics Institute. This three day event consists of a commemorative march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and visits to the Rosa Parks Museum, the Martin Luther King Parsonage, the University of Alabama, Brown Chapel, and the Alabama State Capitol.

"I am honored to participate in this biannual pilgrimage," said Congressman Barrow. "This year's pilgrimage marks the 50th anniversary of so many historical events in the Civil Rights Movement. I'm looking forward to marching with so many folks from Georgia, and I'm particularly glad that Pastor Fuller and members of his congregation have decided to join us for this pilgrimage."

The Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage is an event held every Congress to commemorate the events surrounding the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the University of Alabama, the Birmingham children's crusade, the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, and the publication of Dr. Martin Luther King's letters from the Birmingham Jail.

Congressman Barrow will attend the pilgrimage with Pastor Gregory Fuller of Macedonia Baptist Church in Augusta. Rev. Fuller attended the Selma-to-Montgomery March as a child in his aunt's arms. Mr. Fuller's aunt, Bernice Coleman, and his grandmother, Sarah Nixon, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Congressman John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. During the march Ms. Nixon and Ms. Coleman were beaten, arrested, and spent the weekend in jail. Rev. Fuller's grandmother and aunt will also be attending the commutative march across Edmund Pettus Bridge.

"This will be a beautiful moment, and the highlight of my life," said Pastor Fuller. "When I was a child, these women walked for me in the march, and now, I will be walking with them."

Rev. Fuller's church, Macedonia Baptist Church, will be chartering a bus to send approximately fifty members to attend the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage.

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