乔·拜登总统前往阿拉巴马州的塞尔玛，纪念“二战”58周年血腥星期日。"
在那里，拜登在埃德蒙·佩特斯桥发表了讲话——1965年，数百名民权游行者在这里遭到警察袭击。引发全国愤怒的暴力事件标志着运动的转折点，并导致选举权法案的通过。
“他们迫使这个国家面对严酷的事实，并采取行动保持美国的承诺，”总统在桥上的讲话中说。他还强调，他认为投票这一“基本权利”在几十年后仍然受到来自保守的最高法院法官、州议员和选举否认者的攻击。
拜登吹捧他和其他人已经采取的一些措施，如颁布1月6日之后的选举计数改革法案。但“我们必须保持警惕，”他说，并再次呼吁国会通过新的投票立法，该立法以已故佐治亚州众议员约翰·刘易斯的名字命名，他在“血腥星期天”遭到殴打，颅骨骨折。
虽然总统说还有一系列其他令他自豪的成就，包括对黑人社区的各种投资，“我们知道还有工作要做，”他说，简要谈到了席卷塞尔玛的破坏性龙卷风天气。
在游行周年纪念日，他的信息是“极端主义不会胜利....沉默，俗话说，沉默就是同谋。我向你们保证，我的政府不会保持沉默。我答应你。”
演讲结束后，总统和民权倡导者一起走过大桥，这是他入主白宫以来第一次这样做。
拜登的新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔周五在预览行程时告诉记者，拜登将“谈论纪念‘血腥星期天’的重要性，这样历史就不会被抹去。他将强调继续争取投票权对于为美国黑人带来经济正义和公民权利是不可或缺的。
拜登曾多次谈到投票权，在一份声明中强调了这个问题纪念马丁·路德·金的布道。尽管在他入主椭圆形办公室的头两年立法步履蹒跚，但在一月份和他最近的国情咨文中。
民主党人去年试图用一项以刘易斯命名的法案来更新1965年的投票权法案，但未能获得足够的支持来打破参议院的阻挠。现在，在共和党领导的众议院，任何推动立法通过的努力都将面临更大的挑战。
“在美国，我们必须保护投票权，而不是压制这项基本权利。我们尊重我们的选举结果，而不是颠覆人民的意愿。我们必须坚持法治，恢复对我们民主制度的信任，”拜登在上个月的国情咨文中说道。
去年，副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯前往塞尔玛参加“血腥星期天”57周年纪念活动她说，当时被州警殴打的游行者是在为“美国公民最基本的权利:投票权”而战。
“今天，我们在不同的时间站在这座桥上。然而，我们再次发现自己夹在不公正和公正之间，夹在失望和决心之间，仍然在为建立一个更加完美的联邦而斗争，”哈里斯说。“这一点在争取投票权的持续斗争中表现得最为明显。”
2020年，拜登在竞选活动中受到热烈欢迎，他在塞尔玛历史悠久的布朗教堂AME教堂向聚集在一起的会众发表讲话，庆祝“血腥星期天”
众议员特里·休厄尔。，称她邀请拜登在国情咨文期间出席“血腥星期日”纪念日。
休厄尔在一份声明中说:“我期待着欢迎总统来到我的家乡，因为我们以所有人的平等和正义的名义反思步兵的牺牲。”
Biden travels to Selma for anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'
President Joe Biden traveled to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday."
There, Biden spoke at the Edmund Pettus Bridge -- where in 1965 hundreds of civil rights marchers were attacked by police. The violence, which sparked national outrage, marked a turning point in the movement and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
"They forced the country to confront the hard truth and to act to keep the promise of America alive," the president said in his remarks at the bridge. He also stressed that he believed voting, a "fundamental right," remains under assault decades later -- from conservative Supreme Court justices and from state lawmakers and from election deniers.
Biden touted some steps he and others had taken, such as enacting the post-Jan. 6 Electoral Count Reform Act. But "we must remain vigilant," he said, repeating his plea for Congress to pass new voting legislation named for the late Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who was beaten and suffered a skull fracture during "Bloody Sunday."
And while the president said there was a list of other accomplishments he was proud of, including various investments in the Black community, "We know there's work to do," he said, briefly touching on destructive tornado weather that had blown through Selma.
His message, on the anniversary of the march, was "extremism will not prevail .... Silence, as the saying goes, silence is complicity. And I promise you, my administration will not remain silent. I promise you."
After speaking, the president marched across the bridge with civil rights advocates -- the first time he did so since entering the White House.
Biden's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday, as she previewed the trip, that he would "talk about the importance of commemorating 'Bloody Sunday' so that history cannot be erased. He will highlight how the continued fight for voting rights is integral to delivering economic justice and civil rights for Black Americans."
President Joe Biden speaks to the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, March 1, 2023, in Baltimore.
Evan Vucci/AP, FILE
Biden has repeatedly spoken on voting rights, highlighting the issue in asermon honoring Martin Luther King Jr.in January and in his most recent State of the Union, despite legislation faltering during his first two years in the Oval Office.
Democrats attempted last year to update the 1965 Voting Rights Act with a bill named after Lewis but failed to gain enough support to break the Senate filibuster. Now, with a Republican-led House, any effort to push legislation through will face an even greater challenge.
"In America, we must protect the right to vote, not suppress that fundamental right. We honor the results of our elections, not subvert the will of the people. We must uphold the rule of the law and restore trust in our institutions of democracy," Biden said during his State of the Union last month.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Selma last year for the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday." She said then the marchers beaten by state troopers were fighting for "the most fundamental right of American citizenship: the right to vote."
"Today, we stand on this bridge at a different time. We again, however, find ourselves caught in 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."
Biden in 2020, while he was on the campaign trail, received a warm reception as he addressed the congregation gathered at the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma to observe "Bloody Sunday."
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said she invited Biden to attend the "Bloody Sunday" anniversary during his State of the Union.
"I look forward to welcoming the President to my hometown as we reflect on the sacrifices of the Foot Soldiers in the name of equality and justice for all," Sewell said in a statement.
