bollock county, alabama. you know, last week a cleark here -- clerk here in one of the montgomery stores was quoted as saying " what do the negroes want now?" well lady, they want what burt williams used to say " everything from the skin out and from an overcoat in." they want just what other americans want. this historic march is one more evidence that in this first emancipation century we have b een busy building a house, a house not made with hands, a house for our spirits once bowed down but now tall and free, a house impervious to epithets, to sticks and stones and even to bullets, a house that turns away ridicule, one where hatred cannot penetrate, a house of love and peace but of justice, one big enough and warm enough for us and ours and also for all of them on the other side, whenever they are ready to answer. for however great may be the intentions they on the other side they along to us. and we to them. all of us together make up this great nation, which we and they love and which we and they have

down in troy alabama -- troy alabama. let us hear the courageous leader of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, mr. john lewis. [applause] >> my fellow freedom fighters. as ralph said, as a native of troy, alabama, just 50 miles from here, i am happy to be able to stand here and share this great moment in history. with men like martin luther king and other great men in this struggle for freedom. this is the greatest and perhaps the most significant demonstration in the history of the civil rights movement. just a few weeks ago, governor wallace said there would be no march from selma to montgomery. he used troops to beat us down. on march 7, with billy clubs tear gas. but you, the freedom loving people of alabama, said that you have a constitutional right to march. and that you were determined to march and you did march. the president of the united states, lyndon baines johnson made it clear to the american people and he also made it crystal clear to governor george c. wallace that the state of alabama is still

to montgomery, alabama. [applause] and now i would like to introduce one of the men who started this march to montgomery 10 years ago, when he responded in faith and nonviolence to an incident which occurred on a montgomery city bus. this minister has been in the number two position, but in the freedom movement, all positions are important, and the number two position in many respects is the most important. there could be no moses without -- and so i would like to present to you the strong right arm of dr. martin luther king the reverend ralph david abernathy. [applause] >> i stand here at this moment and at this time with a mandate from the people of alabama to call to order the freedom fighters and the believers of justice in this assembly through which we wish to make it crystal clear to mr. george c wallace, the governor of the state of alabama, that we want our freedom and we want it now. [applause] this is a historic spot, for it is the cradle of the confederacy , but not only is it the cradle of the c

to montgomery, alabama. won't you stand? [ cheers & applause ] and now i'd like to introduce one of the men who started this march to montgomery ten years ago when he responded in faith and in nonviolence to an incident which occurred on a montgomery city bus. this minister has been in the number two position, but in the freedom movement all positions are important. and the number two position in many respects is the most important. there could be no moses without an aaron. and so i'd like to present to you the strong right arm of martin luther king the reverend ralph david abernathy. [ cheers & applause ] . and at this time with a mandate from the people of alabama to call the order the freedom fighters and the believers of justice in this assemblage through which we wish to make it crystal clear to mr. george c. wallace, the governor of the state of alabama that we want our freedom and we want it now. [ cheers & applause ] this is an historic spot. for it is the cradle of the confederacy. but not only is i

state capital of alabama. we did not have much is there before from selma, but the reason we had this particular march is because of what happened to jackson in marion, alabama. your shot by a state trooper. -- he was shot by a state trooper. earlier, we had people marching to the courthouse to attempt to register to vote. but the reason why the march was decided to go to montgomery, alabama -- it was actually jim bevel who asked jackson's grandfather would you be willing to march and continue to march. he said, yes. jim said he wanted to say something to wallace. and he wanted to take his time and put his thoughts together. and he wanted to walk, so he would have time. so he said he was going to walk. and then he said, do you think anybody would walk with me? i said, well, i don't know, i will walk with you. that night, he asked the audience. he said, i have to take a message to governor wallace in montgomery, alabama. and i'm going to walk. and that he said, well, would anyone here in this church walk with m

my mother was born on the soils of alabama in marion, alabama. i'm honored as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of my father's speech at the culmination of the historic selma to montgomery march. 50 years ago, in a state that was stubbornly transitioning from treacherous segregation to voting rights for long-vilified people, the governor was not in attendance for my father's speech. today, not only is the current governor of alabama here, but peggy wallace kennedy, the daughter of a man who was governor in 1965, george wallace, is here today, to extend an olive branch on behalf of her late father. 50 years ago, it was malice that would not allow daddy to speak from the steps. he spoke his timeless words from a flatbed truck in the midst of a boisterous crowd. today, i stand where he could no t stand. -- not stand. [cheers and applause] to synthesize our past with our present, and to speak those same profound words that he spoke. 50 years ago, my father's words reverberated in the atmosphere as the nation and the world grapples with the horror a

alabama is my sweet home. i was raised here and i have a great love and respect for all the people who call themselves bam alabamans. it is a place where economic opportunity abounds and there are good paying jobs and our children can get a good education. children of all backgrounds. it is a place where neighbors love and care for one another and they work together on issues that are important to all of us. so, while we look back on a difficult chapter in alabama's history it is important that we write a new chapter together where opportunities exist for everyone regardless of race or religion or politics. as we reflect on the past 50 years, i think it is important to ask what will alabama look like like? what will our nation look like 50 years from now? that is up to our people. it is up to our leaders. it is up to those who have a bold vision that make america and alabama better and stronger than it was in 1965. as leaders, may we never lose vision or the boldness to do great things no matter how hard the s

so the naacp is standing for a journey for justice, from selma alabama to washington dc come across alabama come across georgia come across north carolina cross south carolina, into virginia, into d.c. -- a series of direct actions. why? we believe if our mothers fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers did what they did with what little they had, why, why, why can't we do more with what we have been given? [applause] and so, we commemorate and we celebrate and we commit. the word being "hope." [applause] >> praise the lord, everybody. i do believe we are still in worship. raise the lord everybody. this is the day the lord has made it we are grateful for the opportunity to be here. to the bishops of the church, to the reverend clergy, to our officials from all the offices in washington dc and local offices, we greet you with the joy of jesus today and i bring you greetings on behalf board, faculty and staff at alabama state university, the oldest and largest hbcu in the state of alabama. [applause] as has already been mentioned, education is our ticket to freedom. we understand the value of o

do you think there should be a respite in alabama now? dr. king: well, here again with the murder of mrs. luizzo on the night after the march, i can't see how there can be a respite. this is a state that continues to deal with human life as if it is nothing. this is a state that continues to make murder a sort of nice pastime and gives respectability to resistance and defiance of the law. this is a state that continues to do all of the things that are contrary to our democratic creed, at least the political power structure of the state. in the light of this, it seems to me that it will be necessary to continue to demonstrate until these conditions are removed. we don't believe in demonstrating for demonstration's sake. we don't have demonstration fever, but we do feel that as long as the conditions of injustice and man's inhumanity to man infiltrate that state, it will be necessary to demonstrate in order to bring these issues to the surface and lay them squarely before the conscience of the nation. mr. spivak: then as i understand it, dr. ki

my mother was born on the soil of alabama and alabama more specifically hybrid, alabama, and i'm honored as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of my father's speech at the culmination of the historic selma to montgomery march. fifty years ago in a state that was stubbornly transitioning from treacherous segregation to voting rights for long vilified people, the governor was in attendance for my father's speech. today not only is the current governor of alabama here, amid peggy wallace kennedy the daughter of the menu as governor in 1965, george wallace, is here today. to extend an olive branch on behalf of her late father. fifty years ago it was malice that would not allow data to speak from the steps of this capital. instead he spoke his powerful kindness was from a flatbed truck in the midst of a boisterous and buoyant crowd. and today i stand where he could not stand. to sympathize with our past with our present to speak the same profound words that he spoke to 50 years ago my father's words reverberated in the atmosphere as the nation and the world grappled with the horror and inhum

>> today i want to say to the state of alabama. >> yes sir! >> today i want to say to the people of america and the nations of the world that we are not about to turn around. >> yes, sir! >> we are on the move now. yes, we're on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. >> yes sir! >> we on the move now. and the burning of our churches will not deter us. we're on the move now the bombing of our homes will not dissuade us. we're on the move now. the killing of our young people will not deter us. we're on the move now. the release of known murderers will not discourage us. we're on the move now. like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. we're moving to the land of freedom. >> yes sir! >> let us therefore continue our time to march to the realization of the american dream. let us march on segregated housing until every ghetto of socioeconomic depression dissolve the negroes and whites live side by side in decent, safe, and sanitary housing. >> yes sir! >> let us march on segregated schools until every

this happens to come a few days after the alabama supreme court put a halt to marriage equality in alabama. you were the first couple to get married in montgomery, the first same-sex couple. your response to this and how it relates to this weekend? >> it is really hard to tie it together. they are parallel and not really perpendicular issues. considering the fact that now no other couples can be married this makes it bittersweet. we are not able to enjoy the fact that we're married because all of our rights were just strips and there are so many people who would like to be wed and that opportunity is no longer there. amy: can you talk about marriage equality as it relates to civil rights? >> a lot of the people who went to strip our rights do not really understand what they are. they think about the sexual nature of it, but they do not understand what those rights are and what rights we do not have and what rights we are fighting for. in alabama, there is no accommodation protection, and people can be fired for being same gender loving individuals. i am missing something i am sure, but the

state capital of alabama. we did not have much is there before from selma, but the reason we had this particular march is because of what happened to jackson in marion, alabama. your shot by a state trooper. -- he was shot by a state trooper. earlier, we had people marching to the courthouse to attempt to register to vote. but the reason why the march was decided to go to montgomery, alabama -- it was actually jim bevel who asked jackson's grandfather would you be willing to march and continue to march. he said, yes. jim said he wanted to say something to wallace. and he wanted to take his time and put his thoughts together. and he wanted to walk, so he would have time. so he said he was going to walk. and then he said, do you think anybody would walk with me? i said, well, i don't know, i will walk with you. that night, he asked the audience. he said, i have to take a message to governor wallace in montgomery, alabama. and i'm going to walk. and that he said, well, would anyone here in this church walk with m

the reverend mclean of montgomery, alabama. the reverend nelson smith of birmingham, alabama. attorney peter hall of birmingham, alabama. this is a committee of 20 persons who will meet in the church upstairs for final instructions from our leader dr. king. a gentleman from california -- make mrs. wants please come to the speaker stand. will the drivers of all the shuttle buses begin moving quietly to your buses. i want everybody here to keep your position. if you are seated or if you are standing until the benediction is pronounced. this is a nonviolent assembly. we came together and we will leave together. someone has just passed to me a wallet which was found. if you can identify, i will be happy to give it to you. this march is very costly. when you come up against the state, where your tax money is being used to keep you down, we must give liberally if we are to give up. please, if you have a contribution, at the close of the service, do not take it home, but give it to me. for i am the treasurer of the southern christian leadership conference. when you get home, make you

alabama is my sweet home. i was raised here.emselves and i have a great love and respect for all the people who call themselves alabamians. and th alabama is aer place where economic opportunity abounds anden can there are good-paying jobs for ed our people and where our children can get a good education. children of all backgrounds.ogether alabama is a place where neighbors love and care for one another and they work together on issues that are important to all of us. that so whilewe we look back on a chapt difficult chapter in alabama's opportun history, it's important that we ev write aer new chapter to gather where opportunities exist for everyone, regardless of race or religion or politics. as we reflect on the past 50 years, i think it's important to ask, what will alabama look rs from like? what will our nation look like 50 years from now? to that's up to our people.bold it's up to our leaders. it's up to those who have a bold vision that make america and as alabama better and stronger than it was in 19

>> well, you you are six generations alabama. my parents my sister felt as if if anyone deserved a good public education in the state of alabama, it would be our family. she started this process in 1960 and it took two and a half years through the legal challenges before she finally got the go ahead to go. >> did your sister ever share with you being frightens anxious, scared out of her wits about going to that foreign place for black people? >> you know, this is something that continues to amaze me because of all the emotion she had, i think fear was not one. i think that she never gave in to that fear because if she did i don't think she would have ever been able to walk out of her room. i think that she and my parents were people of great faith and they felt that they were doing the right thing and that, you know all would be taken care of. >> she went to the school with james hood. >> yes. >> what happened to him? >> james hood withdrew after. >> now she is alone. >> she is alone. >> how was that for her? >> i--it almost make

alabama is my sweet home. i was raised here and i have a great love and respect for all the people who call themselves bam alabamans. it is a place where economic opportunity abounds and there are good paying jobs and our children can get a good education. children of all backgrounds. it is a place where neighbors love and care for one another and they work together on issues that are important to all of us. so, while we look back on a difficult chapter in alabama's history it is important that we write a new chapter together where opportunities exist for everyone regardless of race or religion or politics. as we reflect on the past 50 years, i think it is important to ask what will alabama look like like? what will our nation look like 50 years from now? that is up to our people. it is up to our leaders. it is up to those who have a bold vision that make america and alabama better and stronger than it was in 1965. as leaders, may we never lose vision or the boldness to do great things no matter how hard the s

it was the state police here in alabama. and we're talking about 600 people on that day 50 years ago march 7th, who peacefully marched across the edmund pettus bridge demonstrating and protesting right behind us right there for voting rights, and they were met by an alabama

this state of alabama is still not the state of alabama of 1965. the majority of the people of this state are praying and hoping that with god's help we will eventually get it right. so that those who might follow us might have a better quality of life. the very powerful movie "selma" is rebuilding those bridges of life. i want to thank oprah winfrey and carl garness and the entire cast and paramount movies for making it happen here in selma. [applause] and as i close there is a little girl here in selma alabama by the name of kendall sue murphy. kendall submitted a recipe to mrs. obama about two years ago about healthy living. the committee of that team selected kendall's recipe from all of the 50 states of these united states to be the winner. [applause] and following that, kendall was selected last year to be the poster child for the healthy living. congratulations. thank you kendall. [applause] and also i would like to acknowledge another selma little girl. she wouldn't call herself little. jada armstrong. jada wrote a letter to the president t

selma, alabama. each of us must go back to our homes after this celebration and build on the legacy of the march from 1965. the selma movement says we can all do something. so i say to you, don't give up on the things that have great meaning to you. don't get lost in a sea of despair. stand up for what you believe. because in the final analysis, we're one people one family the human family. we all live in the same house. the american house. we're black. we're white. we are hispanic. asian american. native american. but we're one people. thank you. my beloved brothers and sisters, it is a great honor for me to return to my home state of alabama to present to you not to introduce to you, but to present to you the president of the united states. if someone had told me when we were crossing this bridge that one day i would be back here introducing the first african-american president i would have sewed you're crazy, you're out of your mind, you don't know what you're talking about. president barack obama

we are bringing you live to selma, alabama. the brown chapel a.m.e. church. the starting point for the selma -montgomery marches. we will hear from eric holder, civil rights leader andrew young, martin luther king iii, reverend al sharpton including -- and congresswoman teri sewell . we will take a look at programs coming up today. including q&a on a companion network c-span. >> you can see, what they would call when i was a kid a -- or a stickball. washington was a large man. six-foot. very robust. terrific natural athlete. madison is a skinny little guy. >> the sunday august -- this sunday on "q&a. " >> his guests that i write most about is his ability to make remarkable partnerships. it also alludes to his gift to the country, of his talents, and what he was able to do to create the first self-sustaining constitutional republic. >> sunday night on c-span q&a. the political landscape has changed with the 114 congress. not only are there 43 numeral republicans and 15 new democrats in the house, and 12 new republicans and one new democrat in the senate, there

tony harris is life on the ground right now in selma, alabama. tony, the question to you 50 years from now, will we be talking about this day or will we still be talking about that day 50 years ago? >> both. right? 50 years ago and how it brought us to this day. more than that 50 years from now, we will be talking about this line, this timeline ex extended. right? so where are we 50 years from this day? this day in which we mark as the first african-american president to walk across that bridge as president of the united states followed by a huge throng of dignitaries, of congress members. so absolutely. we will be talking about this day 50 years from now. hopefully, what we are talking about is we will be talking about the people here at selma living a better life better quality of life. we won't be talking about 10% unemployment for the people here in selma, 40% of african-americans living below the poverty line. hopefully, 50 years from now we will be talking about a kind of america where more people are living better and that more whites have

alabama state troopers attacked them with clubs and tear gas. the violence for everyone to see all became known as bloody sunday. tony harris is in selma where thousands are expected sunday. tony. >> in fact you're right john. three marches and sometimes folks lose sight of that, march 7th, 1965, the first march came to be known as bloody sunday. demonstrators, protesters set across the edmond peddis bridge and they were marching fighting for voting rights. they reached the opposite side of the bridge from where we are and waiting for them were state troopers, alabama state troopers. they were on foot, they were on horseback and they had batons and after warning to stop the march to turn around they were set upon. they were beaten. tear gas was fired. a number of people were seriously injured. congressman john lewis who you had an opportunity to speak to and i know the interview is going to be running later in the program was leading that march. that was a really -- a very traumatic day. it was a day that when the images were broadcast across th

right here in alabama, the 20th-century alabama was known for its segregation and race. the 21st century is known for its immigration rights and homophobia. a lot of y'all don't want to deal with that but you can't fight for anybody's rights unless you fight for everybody's rights. [applause] something sick by the neck of the fish seeing 36% poverty in town, but you are more concerned with what is going on in somebody's bedroom than the food in the kitchen. [applause] something wrong about telling churches they can't take care of children until they check out their parents' immigration status and then get up and preach, love your neighbor. something hypocritical about standing up in front of a bridge celebrating people that were be, and then go straight to montgomery and legislate voter id laws and legislate ending early voting and legislate stopping sunday polls. something hypocritical about honoring dr. king and then running shelby through the supreme court and taking out the core of the voting rights act. yes, you can have the act, but no preclearance. we can do whate

or to the state of alabama imposing a photo i.d. law to vote, my father andrew, a stroke victim, who has been wheelchair-bound for the last 10 years, has voted by his federally issued social security card which does not have a photo. but once the law was imposed my father, who no longer drives, no w.h.o. no longer works, is retired, had no way of getting a photo i.d. after the alabama law changed, my mother and i made sure that my father would get a photo i.d. to vote. the effort was tremendous. we transported my father in a special wheelchair-access van and got it into the old dallas county courthouse, which was grandfathered in from having a.d.a. laws and therefore no wheelchair ramp. once inside the courthouse, the elevator to the registrar's office was being serviced. and we had to wait an hour in order to use it. once we finally got to the office of the board of registrars, there were only one person waiting on 25 people in line. my mother and father persevered. they persevered to make sure that my father got a photo i.d. that

selma, alabama is not a large city by any means. how prepared is the city for all of those people and are they welcoming all of those people to their city. >> oh welcoming, yes. prepared? who really knows. you are right. this is a city of 15, 20,000 people, it's one of the smaller cities here in alabama. folks are familiar with the bigger cities obviously. but -- but selma is a small city and a neighbors city marion is a small city as well. so you are right. there are thousands of people at this moment converging on this very tiny city. will the people, the locals here be welcoming? absolutely. is the city prepared for the influx of people? we'll find out. >> tony harris live in selma, alabama, we'll go back to tony in a few moments. >>> wall street took a slight tumble today despite a strong jobs report. the dow fell about 1% down to 17,856. the s&p and nasdaq's also lost ground. >>> we have more evidence today that america's economy is creating plenty of jobs but not much in the way of wage growth. ali velshi joining us now, and t

full alabama supreme court told the alabama counties to stop letting people get married. so now it is not clear in alabama who will be able to get married, where, or what. in some cases it is not even clear who in alabama is married at this moment. when that new decision came out this week, the great george takei decided there ought to be a response. decided to raise your wedding ring finger to alabama. a visual pun. you think it is one thing and then realize it's another. the hashtag is also luvualabama. you can here that as sarcastic, right? love you alabama and then flip off. or it can be like sending love to you from pennsylvania, ohio, utah, whatever. we're going to love you through this. on this show we have made a real effort to do stories from states where it can be difficult to live your life if politics are not well to the right. we talked about the crazy lady in hassles the muss lick school kids. or a lawmaker in iowa who thinks a woman's mouth is connected to her uterus. they hear back from the world go ahead and let texas succeed from the union. do the rest o

so the naacp is standing for a journey for justice, from selma alabama to washington dc come across alabama come across georgia come across north carolina cross south carolina, into virginia, into d.c. -- a series of direct actions. why? we believe if our mothers fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers did what they did with what little they had, why, why, why can't we do more with what we have been given? [applause] and so, we commemorate and we celebrate and we commit. the word being "hope." [applause] >> praise the lord, everybody. i do believe we are still in worship. raise the lord everybody. this is the day the lord has made it we are grateful for the opportunity to be here. to the bishops of the church, to the reverend clergy, to our officials from all the offices in washington dc and local offices, we greet you with the joy of jesus today and i bring you greetings on behalf board, faculty and staff at alabama state university, the oldest and largest hbcu in the state of alabama. [applause] as has already been mentioned, education is our ticket to freedom. we understand the value of o

from selma, alabama, to washington, d.c. across alabama, north carolina south carolina, virginia and into the district of columbia, 850 miles of direct actions and demonstrations. we're saying look our forebearers did it then you can do it now. but we've got to stand together in a multi generational effort. >> i love that he in that moment was multi-generational. stay right there, everybody. the movement may not be -- the revolution may not be televised but apparently it might be tweeted and this is a movement that has spanned generations and it remains undeterred. [ male announcer ] take zzzquil and sleep like... the kids went to nana's house... for the whole weekend! [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] zzzquil, the non habit forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here

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but importantly the church of corunna scott king, down in marion, alabama. the lace where martin luther king the third's grandfather was the preacher steward and the chairman of the trustee board at the same time. he was a powerful somebody. i stand here today -- i talked to my cousin earlier and i was reminded that my aunt margaret my mother's sister served as a domestic for u.s. senator john sparkman. a senator from this state, in alabama. she was his domestic worker for 30 years. when his neighbor, general omar bradley would have a luncheon or a dinner, he would share his domestic with his neighbor. i said to myself, how ironic it is that now i am presiding over the state where the individual who accepted the hell up fairly paid to help now has a son of the help coming to stand in the midst. there's a lot i want to say today, but it reminded me of one who was named matilda. matilda worked in the master's house. after the dred scott decision, master came in and said matilda black people don't have any rights and white -- that white people are duty bound to

and to bring jobs into alabama. in fact there's a county next to this that's probably the poorest county in alabama. we were able to recruit a company to come in that has 300 new future jobs. actually they've already started. and this is the poorest county in the state. not this county but that county. >> nearby wilcox county. >> yeah. >> and in this county particularly in this city one in five children living in poverty. how much of a concern is that and what can be done? >> it is a concern. and we are working on that as we speak. we are trying to recruit industry into this area and i actually have some. i just cannot announce who they are that we're working on that will be coming into this area. >> all right. thank you so much governor robert bentley. appreciate your time. and, of course enjoy the day. of course this is a day of reflection and remembrance. i appreciate it. thank you so much. >>> it is one thing to walk across this edmund pettus bridge or perhaps even drive across it. but we are about to show you a

good stuff all weekend in selma alabama. one of the central and devicives figures in the fight for civil rights was alabama governor george wallis. randell pinkston spent time with his teenage daughter peggy wall as and found out how she lived the disturbing images for decades. my father never built a bomb or hit anyone with a billy club. he created a climate that allowed other people to go and do those things. >> peggy wallace kennedy is the daughter of george wallize. the president obama governor that built his reputation fighting against civil right. >> seg regation tomorrow and segregation forever. >> when you listen to your father say segregation now, and all of that. >> that's probably the most righteous thing i heard him say. >> that was not the only time her father's words and actions betrayed racial violence. she stood in the door denying entry to two students. ball own died in 2005. her younger sister sharon remembers receiving threats of violence and death. >> i aped the phone. people are making death threats, cal

were met i violence from alabama state troopers. american history tv will be live from soma next saturday and sunday and each night at 8:00 p.m. eastern, we will show highlights of our coverage. here is john lewis, one of the leaders of the march reflecting on some of 50 years later. >> when i heard that dr. king had been assassinated, it was a sad time and our time for me. i love to dr. king. if it had not been for him, i do not know what would've happened to me. i had grown up very poor in rural alabama -- he gave me a way out. maybe a way in. but the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence tell us that you should not get in a state of despair, you should be hopeful, you should pick yourself up and continue to move -- keep going. i think one of the great moments of hope when we were marching from selma to montgomery -- the reaction of people around the nation and the world demonstrations in more than 80 cities on almost every major college campus in america. they said, it's going to work out. it's going to be all right. at th

. >> in alabama some 80,000 people march in sunday to mark a turning point in the u.s. civil rights struggle. the 50th anniversary of selma's bloody sunday. on that day hundreds of demonstrators attempted to march 50 miles from selma to the alabama state capitol to demand the right to vote for black americans. >> jon: that guy i was talking, you see him with the trench coat and backpack that's john lewis! that's him! he was like the first guy over the bridge. on his way to billy club alley marching in great danger for civil rights. look at you just sitting there [bleep]. yeah i see you. how is the ben & jerry's hero? sorry. (laughter) i don't know why i turned that into a personal attack on you the viewer. georgia congressman is now 75 years old. saturday his 25-year-old saturday was not far from his thoughts. >> if someone had told me that we were crossing this bridge, that one day i would be back here introduced as the first african-american president, i would have said you're crazy. you're out of your mind. you don't know what you're talking about. >> jon: that's ins

. >> les payne alabama? >> same. we did not see white people. they were across town and i was across town. but one story when i was a six years old a telegram boy came to deliver a telegram to our house. he was white he must have been a teenager. i noticed that my grandmother answered him sir. it confused me because in our etiquette you answer sir to adults. this was clearly a kid. and my grandmother answered to him as sir. later on in that same year i was in a shoe store. and i refused to answer him sir because he was--he was a teenager. and i wouldn't answer him--my mother slapped me because i wouldn't--i refused. like i said, i'm the rebel but i just--you didn't answer kids, sir. but you answered white people, all of them, sir. that was one of the things that struck me. that was a part of the state terror that imposeed upon african-americans a sense of inferiority from the date of birth. parents did it to keep their kids out of harm's way. we're looking at selma alabama the scene of bloody sunday, 50 years ago. the president is set to address

now, michelle, you went to alabama to look at another solution. >> i was in greensboro, alabama, and people were down on their luck but trying to turn it around by using a weed growing in their backyard. >> sunday. >> you have to look at the suffering of these children. >> director of unicef, anthony lake. >> every one of those numbers is an individual child. >> helping the innocent victims of war. >> what can unicef do? >> there's a very short answer... our best. >> every sunday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. sunday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> hi guys, welcome back to techknow. i'm phil torrez. i'm here with marita and rachelle. you went to alabama. >> i did go to alabama, i got to see how the town is using bamboo to revitalize and pull itself up by its boot straps. >> let's check it out. >> deep in the heart of rural alabama. the once thriving town of greensboro is struggling for survival.

we're back in selma, alabama. this is not just about news media and activists and contemporary elected officials, this is really about people and the folks who are here. talk to me where are you from from selma? >> i'm from macon, georgia. >> why was it important for you to be here today? >> because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. i won't be here in the next 50 years definitely. and the first african-american president speaking from the edmund pettus bridge and i'm a sixth-generation ame. i feel like i'm on hallowed ground. and my two favorite chicks are here. >> let's talk to some of these kids that are here. and we have young people that are here. what's your name? >> samuel. >> why is it important to be here? >> because it can teach all the young kids a lesson of how hard it was for us african-americans to struggle and live. >> all right. excellent. why are you here? >> because it's my opportunity to come here and so they can teach us about how they used to struggle back then and everything and the lo

we are broadcasting from alabama. tens of thousands of people traveled to selma alabama, this week and the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. on march 7 1965, hundreds of peaceful voting rights activists were attacked by police crossing the edmund pettus bridge as they attempt to march to montgomery. 50 years later, president obama attorney general eric holder, commerce member john lewis were among those -- congress member john lewis were among those to acknowledge voting rights remain under siege. the selma protest came as protests were held over a fatal police shooting of unarmed african-american teenager. tony's tony robinson was shot dead friday night after madison police say officer matt kenny forced his way into an apartment following a disturbance. police say they had responded to reports of a man running in and out of traffic. but after a justice department probe found deep racial bias among ferguson, missouri, police, brandi grayson with the young, gifted, and black coalition said madison also has a problem.

now the state court in alabama says no wait a minute, we do things our own way here in alabama. you federal courts get out butt out. >> in a 134-page ruling the state's justices wrote family is the fundamental unit of society. marriage is the foundation of the family. thenit's a stunning reversal after a federal court earlier allowed same-sex marriage in alabama. >> this is really unusual for a state court to thumb their nose at a federal ruling. >> alabama's chief justice abstained on this ruling, but a month ago he ordered the state probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. >> i'm not going to dictate who you love or who you don't love. the law restricts who you marry in this state. >> and the fight to uphold the law in alabama said that this decision protects family values. >> endgendergender does matter. >> one justice warning the court is venturing into unchartered waters and potentially unsettling established principles of law. >> this finally happened. we're happy. >> and couples celebrating just weeks ago are unsure of what will happen to their l