Joe Biden marks Selma’s 1965 ‘Bloody Sunday’ with eye on 2024 White House race
- US president commemorates the brutal suppression 58 years ago of a civil-rights march in Selma, Alabama
- Biden’s trip is his latest event aimed at underscoring his commitment to black voters ahead of an expected re-election bid
US President Joe Biden listed accomplishments in the White House, including appointing the first black woman Supreme Court justice, as he sought to strengthen ties with black voters at a hallowed site for the 1960s civil-rights movement ahead of a planned 2024 re-election bid.
Biden spoke in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday”, when White state troopers attacked voting-rights demonstrators.
It was his second attempt in less than two months to solidify support among black voters after a speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to mark Martin Luther King Jnr’s birthday in January.
“My message to you is this: we see you,” Biden told the crowd of several hundred at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday. “We’re fighting to make sure no one is left behind. This is a time of choosing and we need everybody engaged.”
Biden leaned heavily on black voter support to resuscitate his flagging bid for the Democratic nomination in 2020 and deliver key swing states such as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania on Election Day.
He has backed changes to the Democratic primary calendar that make South Carolina the first state to vote – a shift that also moves Georgia ahead of Super Tuesday and will elevate black voters’ impact in future races.