[Washington DC] President Obama and the First Family Pays Tributes To Freedom Fighters Of Selma March
President Obama and the First Family joined thousands of Americans at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to honor the sacrifice and bravery of the men and women who bled there, on that very pavement exactly 50 years ago. Many of those original “foot soldiers” also joined him , including Congressman John Lewis, who helped to organize the first march over this bridge in 1965, who endured a tragic beating on that “Bloody Sunday,” and who yesterday strode arm in arm with the President of the United States.
It was a day filled with electricity, inspiration, tales of heartache and courage, and the true story of how a handful of ordinary Americans helped to change the course of history with their grace, their peaceful action, and their bold belief in the true spirit of this country.
In March of 1965, thousands of people marched 54 miles from Selma, Alabama to the state capital of Montgomery to protest the disenfranchisement of African Americans and in support of civil rights for all.
The first of three Selma marches took place on March 7, 1965. As the marchers were walking out of Selma, only six blocks from where they started, they were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. There, state troopers and other residents attacked the unarmed marchers with clubs and tear gas to keep them from getting to the capital. The attack on the peaceful marchers on the bridge on March 7 was captured by journalists and quickly spread around the world, becoming known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Two days later, Martin Luther King Jr. led a symbolic second march, to show solidarity and stand with those who were beaten and bruised on Bloody Sunday. The marchers were again met by Alabama state police officers, and this time the marchers retreated, avoiding another bloody confrontation.Obama@Age Of Four Was also one of the marcher
Tag: Martin Luther King Jr
President Obama and the First Family Pays Tributes To Freedom Fighters Of Selma March
Dr.George Cooper,Dr. Ivory Toldson Are Named to Head the White House Initiative on HBCUs
President Barack Obama named two new leaders to head the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
[1] Dr. George Cooper will begin this week as the Initiative’s Executive Director, and
[2] Dr. Ivory Toldson will serve as Deputy Director.This Is Under President’s plan to keep college affordable and within reach for all Americans .
The President Obama has called on Dr. Cooper and Dr. Toldson to fortify his Administration’s commitment to HBCUs, and to lead the national effort to champion both the rich traditions of these esteemed institutions, and their promise for the future.
The task at hand for Dr. Cooper and Dr. Toldson is to lead a team, stretched across 32 federal agencies, corporate entities, and philanthropic organizations, to work together in strengthening the capacity of over 100 HBCUs, as they strive to shape the country’s next generation of leaders.
Before the Civil War, and the formation of the nation’s first HBCUs, attaining an education of any kind was nearly impossible for most African Americans. Reading and writing was taught in secret to avoid often dire consequences. As the Civil War came to a close, and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments became law, African Americans were still a long way from attaining equal treatment and access to opportunity in this country, but they did begin to embrace rousing new freedoms – including freedom of the mind.
It was this spirit in which the tradition of HBCUs was born. And since those early years, the impact of these institutions, and their graduates, on our country has been phenomenal.
When a freed slave made his way 500 miles on foot, from a West Virginian mine, to the steps of Hampton University, little did he know that we would all learn the name, Booker T. Washington. When W.E.B. Dubois headed north from Fisk University in Nashville, to become the first black man to earn a doctorate from Harvard – a powerful new voice entered the historic ledgers of social and political American thought.
And when Martin Luther King Jr. stepped onto Morehouse’s campus in Atlanta, he was only 15 years old – but already, the seeds of change in this country were being cultivated.
Courtesy White House
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