Horowitz: Selma 50 Years On

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

Rob Horowitz

The stirring video of courageous civil rights hero John Lewis, marking the anniversary of Bloody Sunday this past weekend by walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge hand-in-hand with the first African-American President and his wife, leaves a compelling impression of just how far we’ve come. As one of the leaders of the attempted march from Selma to Montgomery 50 years ago, Lewis was beaten so badly his skull was fractured. A nation, in which African-Americans were routinely denied the right to vote and where protesters were beaten for calling attention to this injustice, now has elected and re-elected President Barack Obama. Fifty years ago, not only could Obama never have been elected President; in many states, he could not even have voted for President.

President Obama in his remarks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge captured the meaning of Selma and the actions of thousands of civil rights activists not only on this well-remembered day, but on so many other days: “It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true meaning of America. And because of men and women like John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a generous America -- that idea ultimately triumphed.”

And the President celebrated the sacrifices of civil rights activists and other Americans throughout our history who fought to realize the promise inherent in the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal:: “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 towards justice.”

Representative John Lewis (D-GA) in his speech introducing President Obama. said “Some of us were left bloody ... but we never became bitter…Our country will never, ever be the same after what happened on this bridge."

Soon after Bloody Sunday, President Johnson, used Selma, as a jumping off point to announce at a Rose Garden press conference that he would send the Voting Rights Act to Congress. Johnson said, “What happened in Selma was an American tragedy. The blows that were received, the blood that was shed, the life of the good man that was lost, must strengthen the determination of each of us to bring full and equal and exact justice to all of our people.” The television news coverage of fellow citizens being so mistreated helped generate the active public support needed to pass this landmark legislation and make it the law of the land later that same year.

While the progress that has been made since Selma is undeniable, the work of providing equal treatment and equality of opportunity remains unfinished—a point eloquently made by the President in his speech.. One only has to read the well-documented Justice Department report, released last week, describing the unequal and discriminatory treatment of African-Americans in Ferguson, Missouri to realize how much more needs to be accomplished.

Still, the lessons of Selma and events like it are that citizens who challenge the rest of us to live up to our founding ideals can and do succeed in moving us towards a ‘more perfect union’. That is the American story—one of true, but not easy patriotism. That is the deep well of American citizenship we can draw on to take on today’s big challenges.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.

Video wall courtesy of smileycreek/flickr