Selma, Alabama (CNN) Civil rights icon John Lewis on Sunday paid tribute to the 55th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama, remembering the historic voting rights protests that seriously injured the lawmaker decades before he was elected to Congress.

In an emotional scene, Lewis locked arms with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as they marched alongside other members of Congress across the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the anniversary of the pivotal March 7,1965, march from Selma to Alabama's capital, Montgomery.

Lewis, who was beaten by white police officers so badly that day that he suffered a broken skull , was among the 17 people who were hospitalized and dozens more who were injured by police.

On Sunday, the 80-year-old Georgia Democratic congressman, who has recently been undergoing treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer , said those gathered were taking a "little walk" to reenact the historic march and all it represents.

"It is good to be in Selma, Alabama, one more time," Lewis said as he spoke to the crowd assembled on the bridge. "To take a little walk to try to dramatize the need for the rights of all our people to be able to participate in the democratic process."

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