This is required watching of a Civil Rights icon and resonates today.
Remarks
provided by National
Journal and below.
I
first came to this city in 1961, the year Barack Obama was born. I was one of
the 13 original "Freedom Riders." We were on a bus ride from
Washington to New Orleans trying to test a recent Supreme Court ruling that
banned racial discrimination on buses crossing state lines and in the stations
that served them. Here in Charlotte, a young African-American rider got off the
bus and tried to get a shoe shine in a so-called white waiting room. He was
arrested and taken to jail.
On
that same day, we continued on to Rock Hill, South Carolina, about 25 miles.
From here, when my seatmate, Albert Bigelow, and I tried to enter a white
waiting room, we were met by an angry mob that beat us and left us lying in a
pool of blood. Some police officers came up and asked us whether we wanted to
press charges. We said, "No, we come in peace, love and nonviolence."
We said our struggle was not against individuals, but against unjust laws and
customs. Our goal was true freedom for every American.
Since
then, America has made a lot of progress. We are a different society than we
were in 1961. And in 2008, we showed the world the true promise of America when
we elected President Barack Obama. A few years ago, a man from Rock Hill,
inspired by President Obama's election, decided to come forward. He came to my
office in Washington and said, "I am one of the people who beat you. I
want to apologize. Will you forgive me?" I said, "I accept your
apology." He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we
both started crying. This man and I don't want to go back; we want to move
forward.
Brothers
and sisters, do you want to go back? Or do you want to keep America moving
forward? My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most
powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union. Not too long
ago, people stood in unmovable lines. They had to pass a so-called literacy
test, pay a poll tax. On one occasion, a man was asked to count the number of
bubbles in a bar of soap. On another occasion, one was asked to count the jelly
beans in a jar—all to keep them from casting their ballots.
Today
it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials still trying to stop
some people from voting. They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and
imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. The Republican leader in
the Pennsylvania House even bragged that his state's new voter ID law is
"gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state." That's not right.
That's not fair. That's not just.
And
similar efforts have been made in Texas, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona,
Georgia and South Carolina. I've seen this before. I've lived this before. Too
many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American
to exercise their right to vote.
And
we have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We
must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never
before. We must come together and exercise our sacred right. And together, on
November 6, we will re-elect the man who will lead America forward: President
Barack Obama.
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