Obama Asks for $50 million to Restore Civil Rights Sites
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WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act by earmarking $50 million to restore key civil rights areas around the nation.
The president’s budget includes money for the national historical trail from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, which commemorates in part the “Bloody Sunday” attack by police on civil rights demonstrators. Their march was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film “Selma.”
The attack was a boost to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which helped take away some barriers to minority voting.
The money for site restoration is part of a $4 trillion budget sent by President Barack Obama to Congress on Monday. The plans still have to be approved by the Republican-controlled House and Senate. Obama plans to visit Alabama in March to commemorate the anniversary.
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