Postal Clerk Remembers Bloody Sunday

(This article first appeared in the May-June 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Distribution Clerk George James was just 15 when he tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.

He says he had no idea history would be made that day, when police attacked peaceful protesters who were marching for equal rights, on what is now known as “Bloody Sunday.”

“It happened so fast. They came down on us with billy clubs, horses and cow punches,” James recalled. “We tried to run across the bridge. The world was just like, ‘Bam!’ You didn’t know if you were going to make it or not.”

The protesters practiced civil disobedience, but James said it was difficult to remain silent under the circumstances.

“You want to holler and be mad, but you couldn’t say anything. You had to be content, push your fear away and be strong,” he said. “It was very emotional seeing so many people brutalized for no reason.”

James explained that he decided to march at such a young age, not just for the right to vote, but because he “felt like everyone deserved an opportunity for a better chance at life. We were marching so we could be equal with everybody endquote.

In March, James participated in a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the historic protest.

Today, James, who is a member of the Montgomery (AL) Area Local, still lives in Selma. He has worked at the Selma Post Office for the past 27 years. James said he is proud to work for the Postal Service, which is dedicated to the ideals he marched for.

He said he hopes such a callous attack never happens again.