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WorldView

President Clinton Commemorates `Bloody Sunday'

Aired March 5, 2000 - 6:06 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Clinton is in Selma, Alabama commemorating an event that took place 35 years ago, a civil rights march that became known as "Bloody Sunday," and it fueled the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett brings us a closer look at what Mr. Clinton is doing to mark that event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a bridge that earned a place in American history, President Clinton paid silent tribute to the pain and promise of Selma.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thirty-five years ago, a single day in Selma became a seminal moment in the history of our country. On this bridge, America's long march to freedom met a roadblock of violent resistance, but the marchers, thank God, would not take a detour on the road to freedom.

GARRETT: In pursuit of voting rights, about 600 nonviolent activists crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to Montgomery, but state troopers stopped them and then attacked: A clash that became known as Bloody Sunday stirred the nation's conscience.

President Lyndon Johnson called for a voting rights act; six months later it became law.

John Lewis led the march and suffered a fraction skull in the melee. Lewis, now a Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, stood with Mr. Clinton, the first president ever to commemorate Bloody Sunday. But the ceremony was not just about honoring the past. Lewis demanded that all black Americans honor the sacrifice of Selma.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: We cannot consecrate this ground, but we can desecrate it: We can desecrate it when we fail to register and get out and vote.

GARRETT: Janette Allen (ph) of Gadsden, Alabama arrived early for a front-row view. She worries that some are losing the hunger to vote.

JANETTE ALLEN: We had to march for it. People died for it. It should never be forgotten. It should never be taken for granted.

GARRETT: Mr. Clinton speaks often about building bridges to a better future. At the foot of this historic bridge, Mr. Clinton said the spirit of Selma must reshape race relations.

CLINTON: As long as African-Americans and Latinos anywhere in America believe they are unfairly targeted by police because of the color of their skin and police believe they are unfairly judged by their communities because of the color of their uniforms, we have another bridge to cross.

GARRETT: John Lewis said the president didn't have to come to Selma. Mr. Clinton said he simply had to, making another stop in his presidency devoted to improving civil rights and adding to his legacy.

Major Garrett, CNN, Selma, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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