WILMINGTON, Del. – To assist Delaware teachers and parents in engaging with their students about the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on a critical piece of the historic Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senator Chris Coons on Monday shared two videos on his visit to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama for the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage in March. The videos were published on the Senator’s YouTube channel and emailed to educators throughout the state on Monday.
The first video, which runs a little over two and a half minutes, reflects on the important role of the civil rights movement in shaping our nation’s voting laws. The second video, which is exactly two minutes long, looks at Ruby Bridges and the fight for racial integration in public schools. Both videos can be viewed at http://coons.senate.gov/civilrightsvideos.
“The pilgrimage was a moving reminder of how far our nation has come and how important it is to protect that progress,” Senator Coons said. “With the Supreme Court set to rule this month on the Voting Rights Act, I wanted to share that experience with Delaware students to help put the law in context. Our nation’s civil rights journey is not over. I hope these videos contribute to discussions in classrooms and at kitchen tables around our state.”
The Faith and Politics Institute hosts an annual three-day pilgrimage to civil rights landmarks in Alabama that gives participants an opportunity to visit historic sites and reflect on the nation’s civil rights journey. This year’s pilgrimage was March 1 to March 3, and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement. Congressman Carney went on the pilgrimage in 2012.
More than 250 people participated in this year’s pilgrimage, including 30 members of Congress.
Transcripts of the two videos follow:
Senator Coons on his Civil Rights Pilgrimage | http://youtu.be/Pjj7aUrlYTI
“I had a remarkable weekend. I had the honor of joining the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama. I went with dozens of members of Congress — members of the House and Senate. Something that was powerful about it for me was to be there not just with John Lewis — now ‘Representative John Lewis’ — who personally was centrally involved in a lot of these key events; but also to join a reenactment of the original march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma Montgomery, and to have a chance to hear from the U.S. attorney general and from our vice president, and to reflect as we marched across the bridge about how that march is not yet done.
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in large part because of the national outpouring of emotion after Bloody Sunday — after the peaceful marchers that included priests and nuns, and volunteers and neighbors from all over Selma and across the country, who were confronted by hundreds of troopers and guardsmen, who bloodied them and chased them back to Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church where they started their march and where we worshipped Sunday. The tragic history is that the Montgomery Police didn’t protect them; didn’t protect the Freedom Riders; didn’t do their job of keeping the peace. And so it was striking to have the current chief of police come before this whole group and personally apologize to Representative Lewis, who had been beaten badly from a mob of attackers outside. He asked for forgiveness from Representative Lewis and he offered him his own badge as a sign of respect and as a gesture of hope for real reconciliation. Representative Lewis was moved to tears and embraced the chief of police of Montgomery, Alabama. I think everybody who was there will remember this moment for a long, long time to come.
“It is my hope that the Supreme Court of the United States will not overturn that Voting Rights of 1965, but if they do, I’m determined to take what steps we must to ensure that the voting rights of Americans continue to be protected. That’s what I took away from this year’s march — an encouragement of determination to stay focused on the goal, which is to ensure that every American’s vote is counted.”
Senator Coons on Ruby Bridges and his Civil Rights Pilgrimage | http://youtu.be/XBNgIMfEpr4
“I had a remarkable weekend. I had the honor of joining the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama. One of the most striking moments, for me — that I shared with my kids — was meeting Ruby Bridges of New Orleans. I had no idea she was going to be joining us for this pilgrimage. I sort of bumped into her as we were coming out of Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery, Alabama, which was the first church where Martin Luther King was pastor. I recognized her name immediately because my daughter, Maggie, had [just] done a book report.
“Ruby Bridges, in 1960, as a six year old, was the very student in Louisiana to go to an all-white elementary school, and to begin the process of school integration in New Orleans. The bravery — the courage that it took — for her to march through jeering crowds; for her to go to school even though her whole classroom got up and left. The courage shown by a teacher who sat with her every day and taught her even though she was the only student in the class, and taught her with care and attention; and the very real risks that her parents took and the very real harms that her family suffered as a result of it. It’s just a painful and it’s a moving story. So it was great to meet Ruby in person — a married mother of four and someone who’s running her own foundation, and who is reaching out in partnership with that same teacher more than 50 years later to provide education and encouragement, racial reconciliation and insight into this most pivotal moment of the civil rights movement.
“What I share with my kids is that Ruby Bridges shows us that sometimes some of the worst things about America or about our world — like racial intolerance — we can solve through the courage of our children.”