CBCF Statement on the Passing of Civil Rights Heroine Dr. Amelia Boynton Robinson
WASHINGTON (PRWEB) August 26, 2015 -- A. Shuanise Washington, president and chief executive officer of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Incorporated (CBCF) today released the following statement on the passing of civil rights icon, Dr. Amelia Boynton Robinson at age 104.
“As we mourn the passing of such a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, we also reflect and celebrate the legacy Dr. Amelia Boynton Robinson leaves behind.
“Dr. Boynton Robinson showed the nation what courage and conviction looks like in the face of adversity. On March 7, 1965, she and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with several civil rights leaders, organized the Selma to Montgomery march for equal voting rights. During Bloody Sunday, Dr. Boynton was beaten unconscious by state police. The images of her bruised and bloody went viral and led to President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“As the first African-American woman to run for Congress in Alabama, she paved the way for Alabama’s first elected Congresswoman, Rep. Terri Sewell.
“In September, during the upcoming 45th Annual Legislative Conference, the CBCF will honor Dr. Boynton Robinson with the Harold Washington Award during our Phoenix Awards Dinner for championing the causes of the poor, underprivileged and oppressed.
“Dr. Boynton Robinson will be recognized posthumously for her sacrifice and diligence to secure equal rights for all people.
“We will continue to remember and honor her life’s work. May she be an example to all of us to keep fighting for justice.”
Shrita Sterlin-Hernandez, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Incorporated, http://www.cbcfinc.org, +1 (202) 263-5702, [email protected]
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