Merrick Garland, the United States Attorney General, addressed Sunday at Historic Tabernacle Baptist Church. Garland addressed voting rights and the 59th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.”
“The Justice Department owes a huge debt of gratitude to the heroic activists who marched in Selma 59 years ago. “And to those who will march,” Garland stated. “There are many topics for debate in America. The right of all eligible citizens to vote and have their votes tallied must not be debated. The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and all other rights flow from it. It is a right that individuals of this community have sacrificed for.”
Garland stated that there has been little movement on granting all citizens the right to vote. “Progress in protecting the right to vote — especially for Black Americans — has never been steady,” Garland said in a statement. “Indeed, throughout our country’s history—before and after Bloody Sunday—the freedom to vote in America has been under siege. It came under attack during the Civil War and throughout Reconstruction, when white supremacists used violence and threats of violence to prevent Black Americans from exercising their right to vote.” Garland believes that the African-Americans who were beaten on Bloody Sunday deserve to have their sacrifices recognized.
