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Rep. Carson in Selma for 50th anniversary march

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the day when civil rights marchers were attacked in Selma, Alabama.

President Barack Obama will be in Selma to commemorate the occasion and so will Indiana Congressman André Carson.

Congressman Carson kicked off the weekend tweeting a photo that includes him, Congressman John Lewis and Congressman GK Butterfield on the way to Selma.

Lewis was one of the organizers of that march 50 years ago. Carson considers him a mentor and the trip to Selma critically important.

“It’s very thrilling,” Rep. Carson said by phone from Selma, “to see people from all walks of life; black, white, Latino, Asian, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu (and) non-theist all coming together as they were together 50 years ago, but it has expanded demographically.”

It’s a sentiment similar to what President Obama expressed.

“Michelle and I and the girls will be traveling to Selma to pay tribute,” he said, “not just as president, or First Lady, or as African Americans but as Americans.”

The march in 1965 was in support of voting rights, an issue that Carson says is still important today.

But when marchers cross the Edmund Pettus bridge this time there are other issues that will be mentioned too.

“We still have issues of immigration reform,” said Carson. “We still see deep disparities in our educational system, we still see huge impediments to getting folks to voting booths.”

A busload of people representing the Indianapolis chapter of the NAACP will also cross the bridge Saturday.

There will be a march here in Indianapolis as well. It will begin Saturday at noon at Light of the World Christian Church and will lead to the Statehouse.

Organizers hope to attract hundreds of people to take part.