By: Igor Bobic
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/07/barack-obama-selma-anniversary_n_6823060.html?ir=Politics
For those who do not know what 'Bloody Sunday' is: the three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 were part of the Selma Voting Rights Movement and led to the passage that year of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark federal achievement of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. Activists publicized the three protest marches to walk the 54-mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery as showing the desire of black American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote, in defiance of segregationist repression. The first march took place on March 7, 1965. Bevel, Amelia Boynton, and others helped organize it. The march recently gained the nickname Bloody Sunday after its 600 marchers were attacked at the Edmund Pettus Bridge after leaving Selma; state troopers and county posse attacked the unarmed marchers with billy clubs and tear gas. Law enforcement beat Boynton unconscious; media publicized a picture of her lying wounded on the bridge worldwide. Barack Obama marked the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday in Selma. ""We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod, tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching toward justice," Obama said in a soaring speech that addressed race and civil rights" (Source 1). Bernice King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter was in attendance passing on the legacy and living free and unsegregated because of her father's ambition to desegregate African Americans and whites.
Obama's speech was touching and heartfelt. He reminded the people that everyone is equal, regardless of color. He acknowledged the late Dr. King's actions towards segregation and saluted him. He also told people how important of a city Selma is to the history of the United States. Obama ended his speech by saying, "You are America. Unconstrained by habits and convention. Unencumbered by what is, and ready to seize what ought to be," he said. "For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, and new ground to cover, and bridges to be crossed. And it is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow" (Source 1).
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