Washington, DC – Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) will be joined by the Mayor of Selma, Mr. George Evans, at President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday.  Mayor Evans is currently serving his second term as Mayor of Selma. Evans was Selma’s first black City Council President and is the second black mayor in Selma’s history.

“It is a tremendous honor to have Mayor George Evans as my guest to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Mayor Evans has dedicated his life to education and public service. I am truly proud of the barriers he has broken throughout his career as the first black Superintendent of the Dallas County School System, Selma’s first black City Council president and the city’s second black mayor,” said Rep. Sewell. “This March, the City of Selma will be commemorating the 49^th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, preluding the 50^th Commemoration which will be held in 2015. In light of these historic commemorations, I found it befitting to invite Mayor Evans as my guest due to the pivotal role our city played in the Civil Rights Movement. It is important that we never forget the sacrifices made on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and the dynamic role that our city’s leaders have played in preserving that precious history.” 

“As Mayor of the historic city of Selma, Alabama, I’m thrilled and humbled to be invited to share this experience with leaders and ordinary people from all walks of life,” said Mayor George Evans. “As Selma prepares to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Selma to Montgomery March, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I am reminded of efforts to turn back the clock on voting rights.  When elections unfolded in 2008, I became Mayor of Selma, AL and at the same time, then Senator Barak Obama became President Obama.  We share Selma as a touchstone.  Our elections would never have been possible without sacrifices of those who worked hard and marched for equality and voting rights for African Americans.  We must continue to be vigilant and to oppose any efforts to curtail access and tighten voter restrictions not only in Alabama, not only in the South, but all around the country.”

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Mayor George P. Evans is a lifelong resident and native of Selma, Alabama. Before running for elected office, Mayor Evans spent his professional career as an educator and served as Superintendent of the Dallas County School System and Chief Academic Officer for the Alabama Department of Education.