U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks to the media following Senate Democratic lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2022.U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks to the media following Senate Democratic lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2022.
President Joe Biden will press his case for stronger voting rights during a visit to Alabama on Sunday to commemorate the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when state troopers beat peaceful protesters who were marching against discrimination. Biden’s trip to Selma is his latest event aimed at underscoring his commitment to Black voters, who helped propel him to the White House and remain a key constituency going into his expected 2024 re-election bid.The president will speak at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where state troopers clubbed and used tear gas against the 1965voting rights marchers, including John Lewis, a Black civil rights activist who went on to become a U.S. congressman.
Biden has sought to build support for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, bills that would make Election Day a holiday, register new voters and strengthen U.S. Justice Department oversight of local election jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.The president, who has said he intends to run fore-election, has sought to buttress his support from African American voters.