Biden Regrets Not Supporting MLK In 1965

SELMA, Ala. — During his remarks at two events Sunday in Selma, Vice President Joe Biden mentioned his regret for not being a part of the civil rights movements in Selma and other parts of the Deep South.

Sunday, Biden had the chance to visit the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge, the point where marchers were attacked on March 7, 1965 and beaten by law enforcement in their attempts to march from Selma to Montgomery. That March day would prove to become one of the key powder keg moments of the civil rights movement and is known as Bloody Sunday.

Locked arm-in-arm with U.S. Rep John Lewis (D-Ga.), one of the marchers beaten on Bloody Sunday, Biden joined in spiritual songs and listened as Lewis stopped the march at the point where he and others were attacked, detailing the vivid accounts of how he was beaten, where others were trampled by horses.

“When we got to the highest point on this bridge, down below we saw a sea of blue of what was the Alabama State Troopers,” Lewis said. “We kept walking, we came within hearing distance of the State Troopers. A man said, ‘I am Maj. John Cloud of the Alabama State Troopers. This is an unlawful march and will not be allowed to continue. I give you three minutes to disperse and return to your homes or to your church.

“Hosea Williams then said ‘Major, please give us a moment to kneel and pray,’ and then the major said ‘Troopers advance,’” Lewis continued. “You then saw these men putting on their gas masks. They came toward us, beating us with nightsticks or whips, trampled us with horses and then released the tear gas.” (Of course the Democraps fail to mention that the State Troopers where acting under the orders of Alabama Governor George Wallace - Democrap, and that Martin Luther King was a conservative Republican.)

Lewis said 17 marchers were hurt, many of them treated at Good Samaritan Hospital. One of the nuns, name unknown, who treated the marchers was seated in a wheelchair just 10 feet away from Lewis as he recounted the day.

On Biden’s other arm was U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), who is a native of Selma, and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. She was recently elected to her second term.

Surrounded by other dignitaries, including members of the Congressional leadership, U.S. Senators and civil rights leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton, Biden joined in as the crowd sang, “We Shall Overcome.”

An estimated 15,000 marchers took part in Sunday’s crossing, a crowd Selma Police officials said was larger than in years past.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs...part-civil-rights-movements-selma_705040.html

 

oh my! when will they ever achieve equality?













NEVER until they collectively get their heads outta their "blame everything on somebody else" asses.

 

Yo yo yo, what's new?


1960

In a gang and street corner society, it is of paramount importance for teenage boys to have adequate recreational facilities. When this is not the case, idle minds and considerable energies are certain to find a negative outlet.

Opportunity, also, must be made readily available for all. Kids bear witness to the traditional escalator of American progress they see on TV but know their futile predicament excludes them from those basic Americanisms that most of us take for granted. The resentment turns into bitterness as young boys come of age and approach adulthood spiritually broken. A product of a poor educational system, and often, a broken home, he comes to the painful realization he does not have the skills to compete and looks to crime as an alternative. Technological automation and an ever shifting industrial base greatly eroded the employment picture in Watts over the decades, yet southern immigrants continued to enter Watts. With jobs locally in short supply, kids have to look elsewhere. Some may have to travel over an hour and spend $1.50 doing so for a job that pays only $6 or $7 a day. Without opportunity, the youth of Watts were doomed.

-----------------------------------------------

As the King entourage walked the litter-strewn streets of Watts they had a memorable conversation with a hostile youth. “We won,” the youth exclaimed. King recoiled at the youth’s ebullience. “How have you won? Homes have been destroyed, Negroes are lying dead in the streets, the stores from which you buy food and clothes are destroyed, and people are bringing you relief.” The youth’s answer both startled and enlightened King. “We won because we made the whole world pay attention to us. The police chief never came here before; the mayor always stayed uptown. We made them come.”

Any lingering beliefs Dr. King may have had regarding any national solidarity were shattered. His excursion through Watts left him stunned. “We obviously are not reaching these people.” For King personally it was a terrible defeat, not one of his own making by any means but one that would require significant soul-searching for yet another distant and unknown answer.


========================

cont on link..

http://www.detroits-great-rebellion.com/Watts---1965.html

 

RCG could have been that 'hostile youth' mentioned in the story below. That mentality persists. I'm sorry, Dr. King, that you were unable to bring your people out of the darkness.