Loudoun Times - Rep. Comstock Visits Selma, Attends "Bloody Sunday' Remembrances

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By Trevor Baratko

U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.-10th) was among the roughly 100 lawmakers in Selma, Ala., last weekend to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the 1965 Civil Rights protest that turned gruesome and awakened the nation to the horrors of hate and racism in the South.

Speaking from Alabama on Sunday, Comstock called the pilgrimage inspiring and said it gave her insight into the trials African Americans went through during the Civil Rights movement. The trip, organized through the Faith and Politics Institute, was her first visit to Selma.

"The churches are museums," said Comstock, referencing several churches she visited where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave speeches a half-century ago, including the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the site of a 1963 bombing that killed four African American girls.

The first-term GOP congresswoman repeatedly praised the career and efforts of her colleague, Civil Rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who protested alongside King in the 1960s. Comstock said Lewis' dedication to peaceful protesting was essential during the brutal clashes with police and segregationists.

Lewis returns to Alabama every year for the "Bloody Sunday" commemoration, giving speeches and recalling the fight he and millions of African Americans have embarked on for equality.

An estimated 40,000 people attended last weekend's ceremonies.

Comstock, who represents Loudoun County and other slices of Northern Virginia, said "it was a privilege to mark the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches" alongside Lewis and "other brave leaders who we honored."

When asked what current issues, if any, are comparable to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Comstock remarked education -- ensuring everyone has equal access to quality education.

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