Selma marchers to receive highest congressional honor

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Congress is honoring civil rights veterans who demonstrated for voting rights in Alabama in 1965.

U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell of Alabama and John Lewis of Georgia will award the Congressional Gold Medal to so-called "foot soldiers" of the civil rights movement at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday

Sewell, Lewis and congressional leaders will present the medal to civil rights activist Frederick D. Reese of Selma. Reese will accept Congress' highest civilian honor on behalf of the civil rights activists who marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 to highlight the struggle for voting rights.

Sewell sponsored the bipartisan Congressional Gold Medal bill in 2015 to honor the nearly 8,000 participants in the 1965 protests.

Sewell says the demonstrations served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.