March 2017 marked 52 years since the Selma to Montgomery March. It was an event that helped us get to the current status of equal voting rights for African-American’s, rights which were fought for during a time of discrimination and mistreatment. The Selma to Montgomery March was based around peaceful protesting which made it even stronger. This was a march that took tremendous amounts of courage, having more than just oneself in mind as Martin Luther King Jr. led people across as they marched all the way from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama arm and arm and hand and hand across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I had the pleasure of attending the 50th anniversary of this event the weekend of March 6-8, 2015 where we reenacted the march across the bridge and was accompanied by people of all ages and ethnicities. Something as big as this march will forever set a positive example for me on how to fight for what is right, and with the current political status, it is ironic that 52 years later, similar events are beginning to happen again just in these past two years.
Picture was taken by Aja Moore, edited with VSCO preset
Recently, there have been Black Lives Matter protests, protests in light of Trump’s recent Immigration ban, and just one a day after the presidential inauguration, one of the most powerful marches — the Women’s March on Washington in defense of Planned Parenthood and other women’s rights that have been threatened. The turnout exceeded everyone’s expectations, breaking records with the amount of participants and celebrity support that occurred throughout the United States, as well as foreign countries.
To me, these marches raise the question: is history repeating itself? When I think back on what I’ve learned about the mistreatment and unfairness occurring at the time of the Selma March, a lot of those values are sadly being repeated now with the new presidential administration. With all of the controversies surrounding remarks targeting women, immigrants, African-Americans and Muslims, it makes me proud to see the various groups taking a stance in a positive manner.
I do feel that the current presidential administration is pushing us back, and that is especially interesting to me as a political science major. I have classes that teach deeper into the history of politics and the beliefs of past presidents that equate to modern-day politics that not many people, especially young people, are aware of. Analysts say Trump is a bolder continuation of former President Ronald Reagan. The reason why the negative’s of Reagan’s presidential history is not constantly talked about is because, during his time, forms of discrimination were still taking over our country. Republicans of his time weren’t as strictly conservative, and unlike Trump, Reagan did like to pick a few officials to hold higher positions whose views were not always completely in line with his own. Trump has been known to have many controversies before becoming president, and within his first few weeks as president, he’s had just as many. Many politicians notice this because for the past almost three decades before him, it was not in the presidents, like Reagan, to focus specifically on certain individual’s, jeopardizing their rights. Additionally, Trump has no previous political experience, decreasing his ability to properly handle situations. However, in the past, without the peaceful protests, strong leadership and support of those who knew it was the right thing to do we would not have progressed as much as we did which is why I feel, eventually, we will get to a rewarding spot this young generation wants so badly.