Marching in Selma

Six Southern California residents–including two African Americans who lived through the Jim Crow South, two 20-something’s who have never experienced blatant Southern racism and two Latinas fighting for immigration fairness–left Los Angeles Tuesday night on the way to join an re-enactment of the Selma to Montgomery, “Bloody Sunday” march. Before they left, the marchers talked about how a law passed by the Alabama legislature in 2011 reeks of the South of old. The bill, HB56, among other things, requires law-enforcement officials to detain anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. Illegals cannot obtain state or local public benefits, cannot attend public universities, and the law prohibits landlords from renting property to illegal immigrants. It also forbids employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants for any job within Alabama. The local marchers include from left Rosie Martinez, Erma Hall-Wood, Linda Dent, Jabri Range (back), Luz Diaz and Adrian Jacob Gomez. Not pictured are Sedona Onyenachi, Rachel Flores and Grace Sepulveda. Nash Baker contributed to this story. See www.ourweekly.com for related video.