Rev. Jesse Jackson Wants More Than Just Commemoration Of Selma Anniversary
[gtxvideo vid=”baW9W64k” playlist=”” pid=”XiOflQdH” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/baW9W64k.jpg” vtitle=”Rev jesse Jackson”]
Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson joined state house democrats today to reflect on what this weekend really means.
It’s a big weekend, but Jackson and house democrats want to keep the events in Selma more than just a memory.
50 years ago, Jesse Jackson walked from Selma to Montgomery.
Even though things have changed, he says some things are unfortunately still the same.
“Drove through Selma last night, some people are living in the same houses they were living in 50 years ago without indoor running water. So poverty is real. For the governor, the state to turn back 9 plus billion dollars for healthcare is a sin,” said Jackson.
Jackson stood with house democrats, including Selma’s representative Dario Melton.
Melton wants to make sure the sacrifices of so many are not in vain.
“It’s up to us this generation not to let the legacy passed on to us to be taken back. So when we look at Selma, let’s not say we’re just coming to commemorate what took place in ’65. Let’s ask ourselves, are we coming to pay our last tributes to a funeral,” said Rep. Melton.
The speakers are worried that since the Supreme Court overturned part of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Alabama is moving back 50 years.
They say it’s not at water fountains or on buses, but at the polls.
“People in the state of Alabama are being packed into districts so we’re segregating the state all over again within the legislative body. That is wrong. We were protected from that prior to and we need to do something about that. So the black caucus has filed suit,” said Rep. Merika Coleman.
