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First Family Will Take Part In Anniversary; Ambassador Andrew Young Reflects On Selma Anniversary; Alabama Governor Remembers Events Of 1965; Two Ferguson Officers Resign Over Racist Emails

Aired March 07, 2015 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in downtown historic Selma, Alabama. And this anniversary weekend really is about remembrance and renewal. I'm hearing it from so many people here, who have traveled from so many different corners of the nation to be here.

The president of the United States, he will be here, as well. Although he ran a little late, leaving the White House, he and the first family. We understand they have gotten on Air Force One out of Washington, out of Andrews. They are in the air, and they are on their way to this region.

This is what the president's day will look like and this is what people are really looking forward to here as they descend on Selma by the thousands. Later on this afternoon, 2:30 Eastern Time, and we're still not sure whether they're going to be able to stick to that schedule, given that the president was about an hour late, leaving the White House.

But the White House can make things happen whenever they want to. But so far, the schedule is the president of the United States will be speaking right here behind me at the foot of the Edmund Petis Bridge at roughly 2:30 Eastern Time.

And an hour after that, we understand his speech will be 40 minutes long. An hour after that, the family will walk across this bridge and everyone feels a certain something when they go across that bridge, whether they drive it or whether they walk it.

The first family will be walking it and then about 30 minutes after they get to the other side of the bridge, they will be going to the first building they come to on the right. And that is the National Voting Rights Museum. And we had the privilege of going through that museum last weekend, and talking with the historian there.

And this is what the president and the first family are going to see. They're going to see photographs perhaps they have never seen before that were taken for the purpose of surveillance back in 1965 by the Alabama Department of Public Safety.

Now those images are on full display. They will also see a -- an en casement from the sheriff, Jim Clark, there. And the remarkable story about what is in that case, it is a night stick, a photograph of Jim Clark on Bloody Sunday. You see him holding the night stick, and a cattle prod used on Bloody Sunday. But guess what? The historian there tells me that that cache of goods was not donated to the museum. They actually found it at an auction and paid only $150 for those items that are on centerpiece display there at the voting rights museum.

It has been an emotional journey for the people who have come here, and it has been an emotional journey for all of the freedom fighters, including that of Reverend Andrew Young.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, represents both a painful beginning and hopeful continuum. Among those who helped coordinate these movements for change, Andrew Young, he wasn't among those who walked across this bridge and was beaten that Sunday, March 7th, 1965, but he was on the other side, helping to coordinate the hundreds of people who it turned out.

Today Reverend Andrew Young is 82. And he says pushing for voting rights with this small Alabama city as a backdrop helped move a nation, both spiritually and politically after the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG, CHAIRMAN, ANDREW J. YOUNG FOUNDATION: Even though Lyndon Johnson had been the master of the Senate and the majority leader and had more IOUs than almost anybody in the history of the Congress, it was hard for him to go right back, five months later, for another civil rights bill.

But when we left the White House, and I asked Dr. King, well, what do you think? I thought he was being flippant. And he said, I think we've got to figure out a way to get this president some power. And I laughed. And he said, no. He said, we really have to -- we can't wait.

For him, it was not a political problem. For him, it was a spiritual problem. He had gone through the valley of the shadow of death, and he felt it was inevitable that his days were numbered. And so he didn't have any time to waste.

And so when we got back from that meeting, it wasn't a day or so before Mrs. Boynton came over and said that you've got to come and help us in Selma.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): That lady was Amelia Boynton. Now 103, living in Tuskegee, Alabama, in a rare conversation with CNN.com, she remembers too.

AMELIA BOYNTON ROBINSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: I got to the foot of the bridge. There were men on horses. There were police. I was standing up there, and the people started running. He hit me across the -- across my head and when he did, I fell to the ground.

WHITFIELD: Witnesses claim the sheriff said "leave her, quote, for the buzzards to eat." Reverend Young says Boynton's role was hugely pivotal.

(on camera): So who were you in 1965? Describe that young man that we see in these pictures and what was it that you envisioned for the future? How did you know that your efforts would promote change?

YOUNG: I think we didn't know. And I often said, if I had sat on the road to Dr. King, you know, Martin, I'm going to be the mayor of Atlanta or ambassador of the United Nations. I want to go to Congress. He would have said, "Boy, you're sick." You know.

Sit down, have a cool drink of water. We were really doing something so that our children would have a better life. And we never thought -- I'm sure John Lewis never thought he would be in Congress. In fact, we all probably thought, we would not live.

In fact, the general consensus was, we were all in our early 30s and most of us didn't think we could make it to 40. Martin did not make it to 40.

WHITFIELD: Because --

YOUNG: We thought we would be killed along the way because we had no intention of stopping. And we knew what we had to do. And he would say, "if you haven't found something that's worthy of giving your life, you're not fit to live anyway."

WHITFIELD: So what is the voting rights fight of today?

YOUNG: Helping people to see that one, it's important. But I think it comes down to fighting against those efforts that people are using to make it difficult for us to vote. We're now seeing people drop from the voting rolls. The different is that we voted and we had an impact.

WHITFIELD: And as it pertains to voting today, is the biggest problem apathy?

YOUNG: The biggest problem is obstructionism. It's not easy in most places and especially in those tight precincts where the shift of a few hundred votes can mean the difference between how a state goes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the Reverend Young is talking in part about that 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed states to make changes of some of those voting rights at their discretion.

Let's talk more about the reflection and the work still ahead as you're hearing from a number of civil rights activists. With me right now is political commentator for CNN, Van Jones, back with me.

So we have heard over and over again, you have heard in many discussions you have had with civil rights leaders throughout the state and really throughout the south, that there is a lot of work to be done. But it's not a monolithic task. There are many areas that need work. VAN JONES, CNN COMMENTATOR: You know, one thing that's so interesting is that you look at the state now, here in Alabama, things the people are working on. You have a united coalition around immigrant rights because Alabama has more and more Latino immigrants.

And so you have people who marched on this bridge now marching with Latinos to make them feel more welcome. You have big environmental issues. You have poverty issues Reverend Jackson was talking about how sewage is backing up in the homes of so many people. Why is that?

There's no sewer system in some of these counties. So you have septic tanks that back up. So you have all of these issues for people to work on. But today people are celebrating. I saw CT Vivian.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JONES: My God. I mean, now he's one of the great unsung heroes. He's a famous man who said when they were beating him, he said, "you don't have to beat us. Arrest us if we're wrong." nobody got arrested. They all got beaten.

So CT Vivian is here. It's an emotional day for people to see some of these heroes. Sometimes he's going to be maybe the last big celebration with some of these people still alive and to see them walking through the crowd, to see the crowd embracing them, to see people crying, to hug these people, touch them, to hold their children up. It's amazing.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's a beautiful contrast because there are smiles and tears here.

JONES: Smiles and tears. And old people and little babies, and you see that the generation -- my God. I wish that the people at home could be here to see this.

WHITFIELD: And you're tearing up too.

JONES: I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD: I know. It really is an emotional experience. It's been a journey for everyone who has come here and that journey begins as soon as you cross the bridge.

JONES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And when the president does arrive here, and it will be a remarkable picture when the President Obama, alongside former President George W. Bush on this stage, and then the first family will be walking across.

JONES: Very important and it is a bipartisan moment. And people forget, the Voting Rights Act was a bipartisan bill, not just when it was first passed. But every single time that it was brought up, both parties voted for it. The Supreme Court took it away. I hope that this president, the new Congress, brings it back, Voting Rights Act. WHITFIELD: One thing we're going talk about as well, which talks about, race relations, we do understand this president is going to make some very profound statements about his observations, his personal experience, and much of that might underscore the polling that we have that we want to share with our viewers. Van Jones, thanks so much and thanks for being with me this afternoon. Appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you. Very good.

WHITFIELD: We're going to have much more from Selma. Meantime, we do have other news to cover, as well here in the NEWSROOM. And for that, I go to my colleague, Suzanne Malveaux.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Thanks, Fred. More from Selma in just a moment, but also ahead, Russian state media now reporting two arrests in the murder of opposition leader and Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov. We're going to tell what Russian authorities are saying about those suspects.

Plus, we're going to have the latest from Wisconsin where officials are calling for calm now following the officer-involved fatal shooting of a black teenager in Madison.

And Hillary Clinton set to speak tonight in Miami. But will she address the growing controversy over the private e-mail account she had while serving as secretary of state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We'll have more special live coverage from Selma in a moment. First, a look at other big stories, Russian state media now reporting that officials have arrested two men in connection with the murder of opposition figure and Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov. his more than a week after attackers gunned down Nemtsov just yards from the kremlin.

CNN's Matthew Chance has the very latest from Moscow.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The head of the FSB, main security service in Russia, appearing on state television, all over the country to make the announcement. So it gives an indication of just how seriously the kremlin wants to be taken when it comes to getting to the bottom of this investigation.

It wants to be shown to be very serious, indeed. The two men have been named. They're said to be from the north region, a long way from Moscow, and is very restive area, very volatile. It doesn't necessarily mean the killing of Boris Nemtsov, who was a prominent opposition politician in this country, is linked directly with Chechnya, a pretty lawless part of the country.

There are hired guns that can be bought and paid for from Chechnya and the north caucuses in general. One of the most prominent people who criticized the kremlin who is in Russian right now and so this was a big question mark hanging over that. MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Matthew.

Officials are appealing for calm. This is in Madison, Wisconsin, after protests erupted overnight following the deadly police shooting of an African-American teenager. Police say the teenager attacked an officer.

Reporter Kristen Barbaresi with our affiliate, WKOW, was on the scene after the shooting and she spoke earlier on CNN's "NEW DAY."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN BARBARESI, WKOW REPORTER (via telephone): Well, when we got to the scene there were upwards of 20 squad cars on scene. We've quickly started to hear that it was an officer involved.

Actually one of our state representatives, Representative Kris Taylor, she was actually across the street at a gas station. She heard the shots fired. She was told to get down. She then came over to me and told me that that this was an officer involved shooting.

We then began to see protesters gathering as words spread that this was a black 19-year-old that had been shot and killed by an officer.

The police chief has told us that originally they got calls that there was a person causing a disturbance in the street running in and out of traffic, acting unsafe. As officers were responding to the call, the police chief tells us that the call was upgraded to a disturbance inside this apartment.

When the officer arrived on scene, he says he heard a disturbance in the apartment. He actually forced entry into the apartment. The police chief says that the officer was knocked down, sustained a blow to the head and that's when he pulled his weapon and did shoot the teenager.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Madison's mayor calls the shooting an enormous tragedy. Under Wisconsin law, officer-involved shootings are investigated by the state, not local officials.

And Senator Robert Menendez, a top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee is responding to revelations that he is facing criminal corruption charges. The Justice Department is alleging Menendez used his office to push for the business interests of a Democratic donor and friend in exchange for gifts. Overnight, the New Jersey senator denied any wrongdoing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: Let me be very clear, very clear. I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law. Every action that I and my office have taken for the last 23 years that I have been privileged to be in the United States Congress has been based on pursuing the best policies for the people of New Jersey and of this entire country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Investigators are focusing on plane trips Menendez took in 2010 as a guest of a donor in Florida.

And Hillary Clinton expected to speak in just a few hours at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference in Miami. What a lot of folks want to know is if she's going to talk about the growing controversy over a private e-mail account she used as secretary of state.

The White House and State Department are getting hammered now with questions about why Clinton used the private account for government business instead of an official State Department account.

And potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates, they're in Iowa today for the agricultural summit. Among them, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the former governor who spoke Friday, and while he focused on national security, he also criticized President Obama and potential 2016 Democratic contender, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We have new threats that didn't exist just a decade ago. Cyber security, these threats of terror, defending the homeland and protecting -- while we protect civil liberties, need to continue to be engaged to make sure no attack takes place in our own country. There are a lot of things we need to restore. This president and, by the way, his former secretary of state have let us down in this regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The key caucus state of Iowa, of course, familiar ground for the Bush family. Jeb's father, George H.W. Bush, lost the Iowa caucuses in 1988, but went on to win the general election.

And after the break, we're going to go back to my friend and colleague, Fredricka Whitfield for more special coverage of the Selma marches 50 years later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to historic downtown Selma, Alabama. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday is really about remembrance and renewal. The president of the United States and first family are already now in the sky on their way to this region.

And when they get here, they will be taken to the stage set up right behind me, and then later on in the afternoon, the first family will actually walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. So many people have turned out here, by the thousands.

And it's unclear exactly how many more people will show up. But when the president and first family gets here, they will indeed get a warm welcome, both literally and figuratively. The sun is shining, and, of course, people are very excited about this event.

Some are calling it a celebration and some are saying this really is a continuance of so much work yet to be done. The Alabama governor, Robert Bentley, is with me now. There have been a number of people as we have been standing up here, Governor, who have arrived.

We saw Amelia Boynton, 103 years old, really the reason why Dr. King and his civil rights foot soldiers came to Selma. It was Amelia Boynton who said, "There is a problem in Selma. People are not having the right to vote. They can't even register."

We have seen Jesse Jackson here, Ct Vivian, Bernice King, Martin Luther King III is also here. What does this mean for you that it is taking place in your state here, and at the historic site?

GOV. ROBERT BENTLEY (R), ALABAMA: Well, I think those of us who are of my age, of course, remember all of the things that took place over the last 50 years and this was a significant day. You know, when men and women of this state did not have the right to vote, they were brave and they were bold and they took the chance.

They tried to walk across this bridge. They were turned back, but eventually, they succeeded. And over the years, we have seen progress and I'm very proud of our state. I'm very proud of the people of our state. And what I want to do is for us to always remember that Selma changed America, and it also changed the world. And we need to remember that.

It's -- it is so significant to look 50 years back and see what happened at that time, but we can't live in the past. We've got to look at Selma today. And I want to represent our great state and what we have available in this state for the people.

WHITFIELD: While there is progress and many are celebrating that, we're has hearing there are setbacks and great concern, particularly in the state of Alabama, when certain voting districts have taken advantage of this Supreme Court decision that came in 2013.

And they have re-crafted some districts, which mean it has changed the cosmetic makeup, the racial makeup of jurisdictions, and it has changed the vote. There are many people who complain they no longer feel empowered with their vote but instead they feel threatened.

BENTLEY: Well, let me say this. If you look at the legislature, we have the exact percentage of representation in the legislature as the representation of African-Americans in the state of Alabama. We probably are the only state that has that and so I think that's something we can be proud of.

WHITFIELD: When you come across this bridge, whether you drive it or whether you are in a car, something happens. It is a remarkable experience. I think everyone tries to put themselves in the place of those marchers in 1965.

But then you get across the bridge, you get on to Water Avenue here, you go just beyond this entrance of Selma, and there is blight everywhere you turn. I've talked to so many people here who say they don't have jobs here. There is no industry. The paper mill has downsized.

And they really feel like it is a forgotten city. So whose responsibility is that? Does that fall in your lap to make sure a historic city like this is not forgotten, that there are opportunities that people can feel good about this place and that it really has progressed since 1965?

BENTLEY: It does fall in my lap. You know, I'm the governor of the state, and my primary emphasis since I've been governor is to educate children of this state, to educate our people, to create skilled work force training in Alabama and to bring jobs into Alabama.

In fact, there's a county next to this that's probably the poorest county in Alabama. We were able to recruit a company to come in that has 300 new future jobs. Actually, they've already started and this is the poorest county in the state. Not this county, but that county.

WHITFIELD: Nearby Wilcox County.

BENTLEY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And in this county, particularly in this city, one in five children living in poverty. How much of a concern is that and what can be done?

BENTLEY: It is a concern and we are working on that as we speak. We are trying to recruit industry into this area, and I actually have some. I just cannot announce who they are that we're working on that will be coming into this area.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Governor Robert Bentley. Appreciate your time. And, of course, enjoy the day. Of course, this is a day of reflection and remembrance. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

It is one thing to walk across this Edmund Pettus Bridge or perhaps even drive across it, but we are about to show you a perspective not seen anywhere else, this, because of the collaboration of CNN and a drone and a camera and our correspondent, Ryan Young. That view, coming up, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to our special live coverage. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. It is one thing to walk or even drive across the Edmund Pettus Bridge behind me here.

In fact, people come from all over the country to do just that, but how about this very unique perspective that CNN is bringing to you. It's really like nothing you have ever seen before. By use of a special drone and a special camera that CNN is launching, this special view today, with the help of our correspondent, Ryan Young.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a bridge now just as important for what it brings together than what it kept apart. From above, you can see the Edmund Pettus Bridge stretch across the Alabama River named after a confederate general, U.S. senator and a high- ranking member of the Ku Klux Clan, time has not changed this landmark much over the last 50 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had no idea there was a possibility of violence. Selma gave so much to America and the world.

YOUNG (on camera): This bridge is a powerful piece of metal for so many people across the country. When you stand here, you can't really see what's on the other side of the bridge and the protesters had no idea what they were walking toward. But their walk changed the future of this country.

The images that were beamed across the country, the video that helped everyone understand the struggle for the civil rights movement, a movement that really got its wings because of what happened here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard what I thought were gunshots and screams, and people just screaming and screaming.

YOUNG (voice-over): Joanne Bland was just a child when she marched on Bloody Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before we turned to run, it was too late. The policeman came in from both sides, the front and the back, and there was nowhere to go. Tried to walk across, I couldn't.

YOUNG: It's a painful memory she shares with people, a memory she found a way to embrace, despite the horror and sounds of that fateful Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw this horse and this lady, and I don't know what happened. I could still hear the sound, her head made when it hit the pavement. And my sister, Linda, and my sister, Sadie, both think it was my head hitting the pavement.

YOUNG: Now the people who marched are being celebrated in movies like "Selma" for their courage. The actor and rapper "Common," highlights this bridge during his recent Academy Award acceptance speech for the song "Glory."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dream we had and epiphany. Now we right the wrongs of history.

YOUNG: During his speech, he points back here to Selma, where he remarks, 50 years ago, this bridge once a landmark of a divided nation, now it's a symbol for change. The nature of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social status.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Isn't that an incredible view by way of CNN's launch of this special drone and camera combination. Ryan Young is now in the thick of it with thousands of people now descending on downtown Selma.

So Ryan, while that is an incredible view, certainly does not exemplify that it's just that easy for anyone to put a drone up with a camera and start taking pictures. Tell us how this came to be.

YOUNG: We had a drone team who worked on this for several weeks to get this story together, and I can tell you the whole team worked very hard to show people the images of that bridge.

When you look at the bridge, though, and see it the way that drone captured the video, you have to understand, wow, it really kind of brings you 50 years ago, how powerful video was, letting the country know what was going on here.

Now once again this video showing the world how beautiful this area is, and, of course, we talked with so many people who watched that drone go up and they were happy we were taking a look with that special piece of equipment.

WHITFIELD: And Ryan, of course, there was special FAA approval that went into the use of this camera and this drone. What happened when you saw just ordinary citizens here in Selma who saw this kind of spider-like image just floating in the sky? What was the reaction about the drone?

YOUNG: You know, quite honestly, we all stood there ourselves and had big smiles on our faces like we were kids. And so many people stopped their cars and tried to take pictures and see what was going on. Unfortunately, we just had a woman fall next to us, so sorry for that, if you heard the sound.

I think they is OK. But so many people stopped to watch and see that drone fly. They wanted to make sure what was going on. But we had a great time using this piece of equipment.

WHITFIELD: Ryan Young, thank you so much. And hopefully the woman near you gets some medical attention. It is getting warm here.

YOUNG: She's OK.

WHITFIELD: There are a lot of people -- all right. That's good news then. Thank you so much, Ryan. We'll check back with you in our special live coverage.

Also coming up, you heard the governor talk about earlier poverty is still very much a big problem here in Selma. In fact, 60 percent of people live in poverty in this town of 20,000. What are the answers? I'm going to explore that with CNN digital respondent, and political commentator, Van Jones, when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in historic, Selma, Alabama. The president of the United States arrival, we're about two hours or so away from the president are and first family taking to the podium behind me here at the foot of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge.

What is unclear, how much of Selma will the president get to see. On one hand, it represents a powerful and yet tumultuous port for change and voting rights. On the other, poverty remains a very big problem here in this city of 20,000, 60 percent of the population lives in poverty.

That's one in five children living in poverty in this city. How is it -- and what next? I've heard from so many people who live in Selma who say they feel like this is a forgotten city.

With me now, CNN digital correspondent, Moni Basu, and CNN political commentator, Van Jones back with me now. Moni, you have spent a lot of time in Selma and surrounding areas, and downtown Selma is not representative of all of Dallas county or this whole region.

But the poverty is blatant. It is big. You just see in this city the dilapidation of buildings. You talk to people, they don't have jobs. No major industry, what did you find in the outskirts?

MONI BASU, CNN DIGITAL REPORTER: Well, you know, I've been talking to people here in weeks past and also today, many of them are here today. And I hear something that's very common among people who live here who say we helped change America, but America forgot about us.

Where is the education, where is the economic development. And one thing that really struck me was how many young people in Selma who graduated from Selma high school, which has now become an all-black high school and the state has taken it over.

They want to stay here and do something for their community, but there are no opportunities here so people are clamoring for a better education system, and maybe vocational training or job training that helps keep young folks here.

WHITFIELD: And it really is so saddening. It doesn't matter if you're from this area, but I think it's so obvious, you drive into the city and see these beautiful buildings, these beautiful structures. And it's hopeless. You know? It has not been cared for.

There is no money, no stream of revenue, is what a lot of people have told me. So Van, I talked to the governor earlier, and he says in large part it does fall into his lap. But is there also some responsibility from the federal government, since this is a historic landmark, there are historic markers throughout the city.

JONES: All over. I think so. I saw a headline online that said, history was made in Selma, but history wasn't made for Selma and that I think really sums it up. One of the great things that is going on, you do have people now beginning to organize.

The movie -- let's not forget, Selma is no longer just a part of history, it's now a part of pop culture now. You have Oprah Winfrey who is coming, so people are beginning to rally. The kinds of poverty you're seeing, though, are shocking. You really are talking about people who don't have sewer systems that function. They have septic tanks that back up into their homes, third-world sorts of problems. We can do better. They want to move forward, but we need to work with them.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about the movie. Some of the movie was shot here. We have heard from a lot of people who said when the movie came here, they had high hopes that maybe people would start paying attention and things would change. But that didn't happen.

BASU: No. And I think a lot of that hope and optimism is present here today now that attention on their city, all of America, all of the world is watching them again. A lot of people I talked to today said we hope this will start a dialogue about how we can better Selma and move Selma forward, not just what we can do nationally, but don't forget about us, the people who started everything here.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful conversation. Moni Basu, thank you so much. Van Jones, appreciate it. There is so much more news straight ahead. Let's go to Suzanne Malveaux in Washington.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Fred. E-mails and firings is the latest from Ferguson just ahead. But first, have you ever wanted to turn your doodles into a 3-d object? Well, now there is a pen that can actually do that. It's a subject of this week's CNN Money Innovate Report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 3-Doodler is the world's first 3-d printing pen. Literally allows you to draw in the air. It kind of got invented by accident. Of when our 3-D printer made a mistake, missed a layer in its print process.

And my partner turned to me and said that's really annoying, I wish you could just take the nozzle off the 3-D printer and fill in that missing space. And we both kind of smacked our heads and said oh, my god, you can do that.

We launched on Kickstarter in February of 2012. We were trying to raise $30,000. We ended up raising $2.3 million. We never envisioned the applications that have come to life. People have done things like make dresses. They have made shirts.

After we launched the Kickstarter, we were contacted by the visually impaired community. They wanted to use the 3-Doodler for writing braille. We told them we didn't think it was possible and there were probably not going to like the results. They immediately picked up the pen and showed us that we were wrong.

Not only are they using it for writing braille, they're using it for raised line graphing so for math classes and using it to write standard letters, since they can feel the letters on the paper. We just launched our new version of the 3-Doodler 2.0.

It's significantly improved. We reduced the size by over 75 percent. It's truly now something that anyone can pick up and start to use. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Checking top stories. Russian state media is reporting that two suspects have been arrested in the assassination of opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov. Russian officials say the suspects are from the north caucuses region which has been a hot bed of rebellion against Moscow for years. Nemtsov, one of President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, was shot in the back one week ago. Surveillance video actually captured the murder.

Officials in Madison, Wisconsin, they are urging calm after protests erupted overnight following the deadly police shooting of an African- American teenager. Police say the teenager was suspended of battery and attacked the officer during a police call. Authorities say the officer suffered a blow to the head.

And we may never know what happened in the moments before unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, last august. What we do know is the Justice Department this week released a scathing report of racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department.

Sara Sidner has been covering this story, and Sara, bring us up to speed.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, we now know from the department themselves and the city they have gotten rid of three people, two officers, one a sergeant, one a captain, have resigned. The city clerk has been fired over racist e-mails that the DOJ uncovered.

And they spelled out many different things, but they were very targeted at the Obamas. And, you know, terrible things that were said. And the department admitted those were things they would not allow their employees to say, certainly not on company e-mail.

But also, we saw what the DOJ says was a pattern of racist, you know, movements from this department. That basically, the stuff they got up to really targeted black folks, and when it came to tickets and that sort of thing. But there is another part of the story.

Because the DOJ also decided not to press charges against Darren Wilson, the officer in this case. Neither did a grand jury. And there are a lot of questions as to what happened the day, still, that Michael Brown died.

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SIDNER (voice-over): What really happened the final moments of Michael Brown's life? The Justice Department investigation makes it clear. The evidence does not support the mantra still being used by some protesters.

Instead, the Department of Justice found that is, quote, "inconsistent with the physical and forensic evidence," and in some cases, witnesses have acknowledged their initial accounts were untrue or witness accounts were not credible, including the witness closest to brown when it happened. Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, whose words helped spark the mantra.

DORIAN JOHNSON, WITNESS AND BROWN'S FRIEND: His weapon was already drawn when he got out of the car. He shot again, and once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air. And he started to get down. But the officer still approached with his weapon drawn, and he fired several more shots.

SIDNER: Attorney General Eric Holder supported the investigator's findings.

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I recognize the findings in our report may lead some to wonder how the department's findings can differ so sharply from some of the initial widely reported accounts of what transpired. America's justice system has always rested on its ability to deliver impartial results and precisely these types of difficult circumstances.

SIDNER: Despite the evidence laid out by Department of Justice that Michael Brown's hands were not up when Officer Wilson shot and killed him, the hands-up, don't shoot movement lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know for a fact that he's dead. Whether his hands were up or not, he's not here and he didn't have a weapon.

SIDNER (on camera): But the argument is that if he wasn't surrendering, then there's a justification, which is what the DOJ and the grand jury found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, that's a repetitive tactic that's been used against black males when dealing with the police for the longest. You can go back to slavery with that tactic. You have to find a way to villainize the victim.

SIDNER (voice-over): But an attorney for Michael Brown's family points to witnesses in that same DOJ report who say Brown's hands were up briefly.

DARRY PARKS, BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY: There's a distinction between hands over your head and hands up. And so that's one clear distinction we have seen already when we have reviewed the report.

SIDNER: The head of the St. Louis Police Union says the refusal to believe all of the details in the investigation is an example of why the community and police can't see eye-to-eye. The gulf of distress is as wide as it's ever been.

JEFF ROORDA, ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: It's not completely surprising. It's become so ingrained in these protests, and in the minds of people who believe that something happened on August 9th that didn't.

SIDNER: Just today, a group of Ferguson protesters traveling to Selma still chanting the same mantra, but we did notice one difference. This time, their signs read, "we can't stop now." (END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: As I mentioned there, the protesters, many of them, took a bus to Selma. They took cars to Selma to be a part of that march there. But here it is very quiet. We did have a chat with the mayor about what all has happened.

We asked him, are you going to discipline your chief and your city manager for some of the things that the DOJ found. And they said we are investigating and we'll get back to you -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Sara Sidner, thank you so much.

We'll have much more ahead. Our special coverage of the Selma marches 50 years later continues right after this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was standing up there, and the people started running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And all of a sudden, racism unleashed its brutality upon us.