[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  DESIGNATE THE TRAIL FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC 
                                 TRAIL

                                 ______


                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 3, 1995
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to 
designate the road from Selma to Montgomery as a National Historic 
Trail. The road from Selma to Montgomery was the last symbolic leg in 
the journey to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  Thirty years ago this month we tried to march from Selma to 
Montgomery to demonstrate for voting rights for all. As the nonviolent 
marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, we were attacked by 
State troopers. I myself was beaten bloody. The country was outraged. 
Two days later, the marchers made a second attempt and turned back to 
avoid more bloodshed.
  One week later, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the Nation and 
called for passage of the Voting Rights Act. He said:

       I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of 
     democracy * * * at times, history and fate meet at a single 
     time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's 
     unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and 
     Concord. So it was a century ago in Appomattox. And so it was 
     last week in Selma, Alabama.

  This weekend we go back to Selma for the 30th anniversary of the 
marches. We go back to remember what happened and to rededicate 
ourselves to the importance of voting rights.
  We have come a long way. In 1965, there were 500 African-American 
elected officials in the country. There were fewer than 100 in the 
South. In 1995, more than 7,000 African-Americans hold elective 
office--nearly 5,000 of them in the South.
  However, we still have a long way to travel on our journey. In the 
1992 Presidential election, only 56 percent of the voting age 
population voted. In the 1994 midterm elections only 38 percent voted. 
This is a tragedy.
  The designation of the route from Selma to Montgomery will educate 
and remind us of the right and responsibility to vote. It will also 
give important recognition to the men and women who dedicated their 
lives for voting rights for all Americans.
  In 1990, Congress enacted the Selma to Montgomery National Trail 
Study Act and directed the National Park Service to study the trail. 
Their report is complete. It is time to make this important part of 
American history a national historic trail.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me as cosponsors of this important 
bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.


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