比学赶帮超A single photo that tells the powerful story of the 50th anniversary of Selma
By Chris Cillizza March 7 at 4:09 PM Follow @thefix
When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change. #Selma50 /9NvfJdSo8r
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— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2015
President Obama delivered a stirring address this afternoon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" marches in Selma, Alabama, a day that fundamentally transformed the fight for civil rights in America.
The speech, which I've put in full below, was Obama at his absolute best: the address functioned as a reflection on the sacrifices of the past, the gains of the prent and the challenges of the future.
But, even the speech was less powerful than the simple image above of Obama and Lewis,
who, at the time of the Selma march was a 25 year old activist, hugging on stage. "If someone told me 50 years ago I'd be back on this bridge introducing a black president of the United States, I'd have said you're crazy," Lewis said as he introduced Obama.
That change -- from black Americans being brutalized in the pursuit of basic civil rights to an African American being elected president of the United States -- may have taken almost five decades but is no less remarkable for the wait.
楚乔传剧情Highlights from Obama’s speech in Selma(6:44)
President Obama delivered remarks in Alabama to mark the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” before joining tens of thousands of marchers to commemorate civil rights history. (AP)
Read President Obama's speech. It's well worth your time.拉花咖啡教程
FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SELMA SPEECH
青岛行政区划It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes.
普洱是绿茶吗Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning fifty years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind. A day like this was not on his mind. Young folks with bedrolls and backpacks were milling about. Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourlf when attacked. A doctor described what tear gas does to the body, while marchers scribbled down instructions for contacting their loved ones. The air was thick with doubt, anticipation, and fear. They comforted themlves with the final ver of the final hymn they sung:
No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.
Then, his knapsack stocked with an apple, a toothbrush, a book on government – all you
作文网高中need for a night behind bars – John Lewis ledhem out of the church on a mission to change America.
President Bush and Mrs. Bush, Governor Bentley, Members of Congress, Mayor Evans, Reverend Strong, friends and fellow Americans:
There are places, and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war – Concord and Lexington, Appomattox and Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character – Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral.
Selma is such a place.
In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of gregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the meaning of A
merica.
And becau of men and women like John Lewis, Joph Lowery, Hoa Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. King, and so many more, the idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America – that idea ultimately triumphed.
As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation. The march on Selma was part of a broader campaign that spanned generations; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes.
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We gather here to celebrate them. 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.
They did as Scripture instructed: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in
prayer.” And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came – black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope. A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. To tho who marched, though, tho old gospel songs must have never sounded so sweet.
In time, their chorus would reach President Johnson. And he would nd them protection, echoing their call for the nation and the world to hear:
“We shall overcome.”
What enormous faith the men and women had. Faith in God – but also faith in America.
