Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma, Ala.)

Now: On the first weekend of every March, 30,000 people gather at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge to celebrate the Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee. The event also includes music and art, says the website SelmaJubilee.com.

“Selma was so pivotal in securing the Voting Rights Act. It’s a city that has been (somewhat) abandoned – no industry, depressed economy, high poverty,” says Lecia Brooks, of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “But at the same time, they do an excellent job of holding up their (historic) attractions, including the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It brings tourism to Selma.”

In 2010, 11.1 million African American voted in the congressional election, marking an increase from 11 percent of the total electorate in 2006 to 12 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Photo: Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Ala.