SELMA, Ala. (AP) — President Joe Biden used the harrowing memories of Selma’s “Bloody Sunday” to recommit to a cornerstone of democracy, capitalizing on a seminal moment in the civil rights movement at a time when failed to promote an increase in the vote. protections through Congress and a conservative Supreme Court undermined a historic voting law.
“Selma is a showdown. The right to vote… to count one’s vote is the threshold of democracy and freedom. With her, anything is possible,” Biden told a crowd of more than 1,000 people seated on one side of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a well-known Ku Klux Klan leader.
“This basic right remains under attack. The conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years. Since the 2020 election, a wave of states and dozens upon dozens of anti-voting laws fueled by the ‘big lie’ and voter deniers are now being voted into office,” he said.
As a candidate in 2020, Biden has promised to pursue expanded legislation to strengthen voting rights protections. Two years ago, his 2021 legislation, named after civil rights leader John Lewis, the late Georgia congressman, included provisions to limit partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, remove barriers to voting and bring transparency to a system of campaign finance that allows wealthy donors to finance political policies. anonymous causes.
He passed the then-Democratic-controlled House, but failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance to the Senate even under Biden’s party control. With Republicans now in control of the House, passage of such legislation is highly unlikely.
“We know we have to get votes in Congress,” Biden said, but right now there doesn’t seem to be a viable path.
Selma’s visit was an opportunity for Biden to speak directly to the current generation of civil rights activists. Many are frustrated by the lack of progress on voting rights and are eager to see his administration keep the issue in the spotlight.
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Few moments have had such lasting significance for the civil rights movement as what happened on March 7, 1965 in Selma and the weeks that followed.
About 600 peaceful protesters led by Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams gathered that day, just weeks after the fatal shooting of a young black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, by an Alabama trooper.
Lewis and the others were brutally beaten by Alabama troopers and sheriff’s deputies as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the start of what was to be a 54-mile walk to the Capitol in Montgomery as part of an effort higher registration. Southern black voters.
“On this bridge, blood was donated to help redeem America’s soul,” Biden said.
Images of police violence sparked outrage across the country. A few days later, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. led what became known as the “Turnaround Tuesday” march, in which protesters approached a police wall on the bridge and prayed before returns.
President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eight days after “Bloody Sunday,” calling Selma one of those rare moments in American history when “history and destiny meet in an instant.” On March 21, King began a third march, under federal protection, that grew by thousands until it reached the Capitol. Five months later, Johnson signed the bill into law.
This year’s memorial came as the historic city of about 18,000 residents was still reeling from an EF-2 tornado in January that destroyed or damaged thousands of properties in and around Selma. The traces of that storm were still evident Sunday. A few blocks from the stage where Biden spoke, houses were either collapsed or roofless. Orange spray paint marked unsalvageable buildings with “dismantle” instructions.
“We are strong Selma,” said Mayor James Perkins, adding that “we will rebuild better.” He thanked Biden for approving a disaster declaration that helped the city with cleanup and debris removal costs.
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Before Biden’s visit, the Reverend William Barber II, co-chairman of the Poor People’s Campaign, and six other activists wrote to Biden and members of Congress to express their frustration with the lack of progress on civil rights legislation. They urged Washington politicians visiting Selma not to couch the memories of Lewis and Williams and other civil rights activists with empty platitudes.
“We’re saying to President Biden, let’s present this to America as a moral issue and show how it affects everybody,” Barber said in an interview.
Among those who shared the stage with Biden before the bridge march were Barber, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Bottles of water were handed out to some in the crowd gathered to hear Biden, and at least one person was carried away on a stretcher in the 1970s heat. Some had waited for hours in the sun, until relief came from the shadows cast by nearby building.
Delores Gresham, 65, a retired worker from Birmingham, arrived four hours early, taking a front-row seat so her grandchildren could hear the president and see the memorial.
“I want them to know what happened here,” he said.
In his remarks, Biden said, “Everybody should know the truth about Selma.”
On the anniversary two years ago, Biden issued an executive order ordering federal agencies to expand access to voter registration, asking agency heads to come up with plans to give federal employees time off to vote or volunteering as a non-partisan survey and more.
But many federal agencies are lagging behind Biden’s order to provide voter registration, according to a report released Thursday by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
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