President Barack Obama is set to fly to Selma today to mark the 50th anniversary of historic civil-rights marches and he has his daughters in tow for the experience.
According to the New York Post, Obama will celebrate the anniversary among an estimated 100,000 other visitors that will gather in Selma Saturday.
“For them to be able to see this place where, at a crossroads in our history, the kind of America that we all believe in was championed and ultimately vindicated — that’s a powerful thing,” said President Obama during an interview with Tom Joyner Friday.
First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Geroge W. Bush, Laura Bush and 95 members of congress will also be in attendance.
“This was just yesterday basically,” Obama said. “It wasn’t way back in the past. This just happened. And the people who were there are still around.”
One of those people is Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who sustained a fractured skull on “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis helps organize the annual commemoration event and will be there for the 50th anniversary.
“When I go back, I — remember, the bridge for me is almost a sacred place. Because that’s where some of us gave a little blood and where some people almost died,” Lewis told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But that bridge, what happened on that Sunday have changed America forever.”