U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Alabama to press his case for stronger voting rights during a visit to commemorate the 58th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday,' when state troopers beat peaceful protesters marching against discrimination
"President Biden will talk about the importance of commemorating Bloody Sunday so that history cannot be erased," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday. "He will highlight how the continued fight for voting rights is ... integral to delivering economic justice and civil rights for Black Americans."
Biden has sought to build support for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, bills that would make Election Day a holiday, register new voters and strengthen U.S. Justice Department oversight of local election jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.The president, who has said he intends to run for re-election, has sought to buttress his support from African American voters.
of the party's 2024 primary calendar, making South Carolina - a state with a high percentage of Black voters - first in line for holding its presidential nominating contest, displacing Iowa.Biden's visit to Selma follows Vice President Kamala Harris's trip there last year for the anniversary of the march.
"If we are to truly honor the legacy of those who marched in Selma on Bloody Sunday, we must continue to fight to secure and safeguard the freedom to vote," Harris said in a statement on Sunday. Then-President Barack Obama spoke at the 50th anniversary of the march in 2015 and walked across the bridge with his wife, Michelle, and Republican former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.
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