SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 101

	WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to 
join the citizens of Texas in recognizing April 29, 2006, as 
Selma to Montgomery Day; and
	WHEREAS, The right to vote is the most fundamental right
in a democracy and is the foundation upon which all other rights 
exist; and
	WHEREAS, Before passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 
African Americans were routinely denied this most basic of civil 
rights through such devices as poll taxes and literacy tests as 
well as through outright intimidation and violence; and
	WHEREAS, In response to these injustices, a series of 
marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, were begun in early 
1965; these included the infamous March 7 Bloody Sunday march, 
where 600 civil rights marchers were met with violence and 
bloodshed at the hands of Alabama state troopers and local 
citizens, who confronted them at the Edmund Pettus Bridge; and
	WHEREAS, This watershed moment led to the historic 
four-day march to Montgomery led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
which grew to include 25,000 marchers and concluded on March 25 
on the steps of the Alabama Capitol with Dr. King's powerful "How 
Long, Not Long" speech; within five months of those extraordinary 
events, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965; and
	WHEREAS, These accomplishments continue to inspire 
pro-democracy movements around the world; the bravery of these 
men and women set an example that still resonates today; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to
those civil rights pioneers who participated in the 1965 Selma to 
Montgomery marches, and urge all Texans to observe April 29, 2006,
as Selma to Montgomery Day; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared in 
honor of this historic occasion.
                                                                            West




________________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
    I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on May 1, 2006.



________________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate



________________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate