As we celebrate Black History, the radio stations job is to tell them something they need to know and should know about Black Culture. Locally, invite outstanding Black leaders on-air. On March 7, 1965, young civil rights activist John Lewis was nearly beaten to death by Alabama state troopers as he tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge during an attempted march from Selma to Montgomery to protest the denial of voting rights to African Americans.
50 years later, on March 7, 2015, Congressman John Lewis introduced the first black President of the United States before his speech commemorating the anniversary of that ill-fated march. Rep. Lewis later walked hand-in-hand with President Obama across the bridge. Rep. Lewis made his transition July 17, 2020 at age 80.
Historical note: from March 21-25, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson ordered the Alabama National Guard to protect the marchers as they finally crossed the Pettus bridge and made the 54-mile trek from Selma to Montgomery. Incredibly, John Lewis had recovered enough to join the march.
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