About a fifth of Congress will be in Selma, Alabama, over the weekend along with President Barack Obama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march, McClatchy D.C. reports.

The famous march is one of the biggest moments that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, will be one of the 98 members attending the commemoration with Obama and his family.

"It shows me there's interest by Republicans to guarantee voting rights for African-Americans," Butterfield said.

He hopes the weekend of events during the visit to Selma would spark interest in Republicans to learn of contemporary stories about voting restrictions that will encourage them to update the current Voting Rights law.

The Supreme Court weakened the law back in 2013, striking down a requirement that nine states and parts of six others obtain Justice Department approval before making election changes that might affect minority voting.

Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Thursday that, "while we commemorate the anniversary of this great march, we must also remember that our rights are still not secured -- Selma is now."

Fifty years ago, Hosea Williams and John Lewis led nearly 600 peaceful protesters on a march to Montgomery to call for voting rights in Alabama. Police officers met them in Selma and brutally attacked the demonstrators with weapons, which is now called "Bloody Sunday."

Lewis bled that day after being hit in the head but is now a longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia. He too will attend the events over the weekend.

"The issue of voting rights legislation and the issue of Selma, we ought to have an experience that brings people together and not make it into a political conversation," said Sen. Tim Scott, an honorary chairman of the Selma trip and only black Republican in the Senate.

Rep. Kevin Yoder said he is proud to attend the 50th anniversary to honor the civil rights leaders and their legacy.

Related