SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Alabama on Sunday as the nation marked a defining moment in the fight for the right to vote, a trip that came as congressional efforts to restore the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act have faltered.
“Today we stand on this bridge at a different time. We again, however, find ourselves caught in between — between injustice and justice, between disappointment and determination, still in a fight to form a more perfect union,” Harris said. “And nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to the ongoing fight to secure the freedom to vote.”
Harris’ trip to Selma commemorated the 57th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 when white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge, named for a Confederate general and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader, has become an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement.
The nation’s first female vice president — as well as the first African-American and Indian-American in the role — spoke at the site often referred to as hallowed ground in the fight for voting right for minority citizens.
President Joe Biden also renewed his call for the passage of voting legislation, calling the right to vote the most fundamental of fronts in the “battle for the soul of America.”
Harris began her address by highlighting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Today the eyes of the world are on Ukraine and the brave people who are fighting to protect their country and their democracy,” Harris said. “And their bravery is a reminder that freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted by any of us.”
On March 7, 1965, state troopers beat and tear-gassed peaceful demonstrators, including young activist John Lewis, who later became a longtime Georgia congressman. The images of the violence shocked a nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Harris’ visit to the city that served as the cradle of the Voting Rights Act comes as Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to update the landmark law — after a key provision was tossed out by a U.S. Supreme Court decision — and pass additional measures to make it more convenient for people to vote.
“In Selma, the blood of John Lewis and so many other courageous Americans sanctified a noble struggle. We are determined to honor that legacy by passing legislation to protect the right to vote and uphold the integrity of our elections, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act,” Biden said in a statement
The legislation, named for Lewis who died in 2020, is part of a broader elections package that collapsed in the U.S. Senate in February.
Lewis, Harris said, was the “epitome of dignity, grace and perseverance,” traits she called upon Democrats to embody in the continued fight for voting rights.
“We will keep fighting We will keep organizing. We will keep shouting,” Harris said. “We will keep making good trouble and we will march on until victory is won.”
The strength of the groundbreaking 1965 law “has been weakened not by brute force, but by insidious court decisions,” Biden said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 gutted a portion of the 1965 law that required certain states with a history of discrimination in voting, mainly in the South, to get U.S. Justice Department approval before changing the way they hold elections.
The supporters of the end of preclearance said the requirement — while necessary in the 1960s — was was no longer needed. Voting rights activists have warned the end of preclearance is emboldening states to pass a new wave of voting restrictions.
The sweeping legislation called the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would restore the preclearance requirement and the put nationwide standards for how elections operate — such as making Election Day a national holiday and allowing early voting nationwide — stablish rules for redistricting criteria.
The annual Bloody Sunday remembrance has become a regular stop for politicians to pay homage to the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement and to make calls for action.
The moment in history is juxtaposed by Biden’s recent Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson. The federal appellate justice would be be the first Black woman judge on the court.
“In a moment of great uncertainty, those marchers pressed forward and they crossed,” Harris said. “We must do the same. We must lock our arms and march forward. We will not let setbacks stop us.”
Harris will also take part in the annual event’s symbolic march across the bridge.
Several other members of President Joe Biden’s administration will also attend the event, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan.