US President Barack Obama. AP FILE PHOTO
SELMA, United States鈥揟racing the footsteps of civil rights leaders who made his journey to the White House possible, President Barack Obama will on Saturday visit Selma, Alabama to enlist a new generation in their fight.
America鈥檚 first black president will mark the 50th anniversary of the fateful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where brutal state suppression only catalyzed support for black voting rights.
Accompanied by wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama will argue that events in the city half a century ago are not confined to place or time.
鈥淪elma is not just about commemorating the past,鈥� Obama said on the eve of the visit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about honoring the legends who helped change this country through your actions today, in the here and now.鈥�
On March 7, 1965, some 600 peaceful activists were attacked by police with clubs and tear gas at the bridge, a seminal moment in America鈥檚 democracy.
A few months later, the Voting Rights Act was passed.
Before the act, it was easier for states like Alabama to restrict voter registration through violent intimidation and bureaucratic racism.
鈥淪elma is about the courage of ordinary people doing extraordinary things because they believe they can change the country,鈥� Obama said.
鈥淪elma is about each of us asking ourselves what we can do to make America better. And historically, it has been young people like you who helped lead that march.鈥�
The history of what happened at Selma on 鈥淏loody Sunday鈥� has recently returned to prominence thanks to an Oscar-nominated film starring actor David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King.
But Saturday鈥檚 address also comes as today鈥檚 rights leaders wrestle with scandals over police treatment of black Americans.
A probe by Obama鈥檚 Justice Department unearthed deep police racism in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white policeman shot dead an unarmed black teenager on August 9, sparking civil unrest and a national outcry.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that what happens in Ferguson is typical,鈥� Obama said Friday, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 not just a one-time thing.鈥�
Despite what Attorney General Eric Holder called a 鈥渟earing report鈥� into Ferguson鈥檚 police department, the government will not prosecute the white policeman responsible for killing teenager Michael Brown.
Obama said he stood by the Justice Department decision.
鈥淲e may never know exactly what happened, but Officer (Darren) Wilson, like anybody else who is charged with a crime, benefits from due process and a reasonable doubt standard,鈥� said Obama.
鈥淎nd if there is uncertainty about what happened, then you can鈥檛 just charge him anyway just because what happened was tragic.鈥�
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