This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march known as “Bloody Sunday.” On March 7, 1965, 600 people tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge and were attacked by Alabama state troopers. Rev. Frederick Douglas Reese and Sadie Mitchell Moss recall that day.

Rev. Frederick Douglas Reese: “We saw a line of state troopers across the highway, and we were asked to not go any further, that we were going to be denied the right to continue that march. And so we were somewhat concerned about that and decided that we were not going to turn, unless we were turned. And that particular decision caused the state troopers then to move in on us, with their billy clubs clutched on both hands, and literally went down the line of marchers, toppling us over as if you topple bowling pins in a bowling alley.”

Sadie Mitchell Moss: “I felt that if we turn around or if we give up, it will never happen. So in order to make sure that this does become a reality, we must continue. And that’s just the way I felt. And I must admit, I didn’t want to die, but Dr. King has always said, and I think I’m quoting him correctly, that anything that’s worth living for is worth dying for. And, of course, I just couldn’t turn back at that time. I thought we had gone too far, especially in Selma.”

Activists and politicians, including President Obama and Rep. John Lewis, will converge on Selma this weekend for events marking the anniversary. Democracy Now! is headed to Selma and will broadcast live from Alabama on Monday. Tune in live at 8 a.m. EDT at democracynow.org.