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Thousands Gather for 50th Anniversary of Selma, Alabama, Civil Rights March; President Obama to Speak at 50th Anniversary of Selma, Alabama, Civil Rights March; House Where Dr. Martin Luther King Planned Selma March Profiled; Daughter of Former Selma Mayor Interviewed; Russia Announces Arrest of Two Suspects in Boris Nemtsov Murder

Aired March 07, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Fifty years ago today, a moment in the civil rights movement changed America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll never forget seeing hundreds of policemen with tear gas masks and state troopers on horses. And you could see dogs and policemen with billy clubs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were really doing something so that our children would have a better life.

WHITFIELD: Today, we celebrate those who sacrificed so much in Selma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in downtown historic Selma, Alabama. I want to also welcome our international viewers and our domestic viewers here on CNN.

The president of the United States, the 44th president, the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first family are on their way to Selma. And we understand the president in a matter upon moments of arrival will deliver a 40 minute speech.

Also with me CNN political contributor Van Jones as well as presidential historian Douglas Brinkley joining us from Austin, Texas. And so gentlemen, we've been trying to talk about and trying to place a forecast on what the president will say. There is so much symbolism for this president to come here on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Douglas, this is not first time the president has been here. He was here in 2007. Then he was a U.S. senator, but he then gave credit to John Lewis and Reverend Andy Young and so many civil rights foot soldiers, saying it was on their shoulders that he stands. What do you believe the resonating message will be to the generation of foot soldiers from this president?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTAL HISTORIAN: Well, and John Lewis has said Barack Obama is a product of Selma. It's not a stretch or exaggeration to say if there wasn't that confrontation at Selma, Lyndon Johnson didn't sign the Voting Rights Act, it's very unlikely we would have had our first African-American president. It would have taken decades. John Lewis himself was shocked that America was ready to elect an African-American in 2008.

The president has a lot of messages to touch today. First off, because it's the 50th anniversary, you want to talk about what transpired at Selma. And what does it mean to America? It's what Seneca Falls is for the women's movement, what Stonewall means for gay Americans. Selma means a great deal to African-Americans but also to all Americans because voting rights is the most seminal of our basic American principles. So he's going to talk about what it means to vote and what it means to march and protest.

And I -- he will be talking about John Lewis, but he's made it clear he sees Selma not just about a couple civil rights leaders but about all the people in the south that endured slavery and endured Jim Crow, and that Selma is a liberation spot, the beginning of the new era in American history.

WHITFIELD: And Douglas, I just want to share with our viewers that everyone in the audience here, the thousands who have descended on downtown Selma have been instructed to stay in their seats, to stay put because the president's arrival is short coming. Van Jones, you know the president well enough to understand his speech writing techniques, his approaches, especially to moments like this that will resonate. And this is part of his legacy.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: A big part.

WHITFIELD: Give us an idea of the process of what the president encounters when he works with the speech writers and what he decides to take on individually.

JONES: You know what, the heart of the speech was probably in his mind and in his heart before any speechwriter even knew he was going to do it. First of all, you may hear overheard a helicopter, which may in fact be the president of the United States. The people hear the tension in this building, the excitement in this building.

But what I think is important to keep in mind, 50 years ago today that bridge was running with blood, 50 years ago people were beaten. People -- there was tear gas. I mean, it was a horrific scene. And 50 years later an African-American president will stand just meters from that spot and address the world about justice.

Now, it doesn't get more epic than that. We talk about that 1,000 years from now. We are in that moment where the circle is complete. And you will have John Lewis here to see that.

Now, it wasn't complete in the first inauguration, it wasn't complete in the second inauguration. It's not complete until that man, that president walks here and says, here I stand. And that is going to happen.

Now, what that is going to mean and what he uses that moment for, I know this president. He has spent more time probably on this speech than any speech in a long time because he understands the challenges that we face of race still in the country. Ferguson exposed some pain on both sides, some mistrust on both sides. There is a need for some healing. We identified problems last year. Are there solutions? Can the president bring us together now on race? Can he identify solutions that both sides feel good about to strengthen policing and trust? Can he talk about too many people going to jail? Maybe we can do something about that. Can we talk about voting rights? This president, to come back now, he has more moral power standing meters from the bloody bridge than he has even in the Oval Office. I hope he uses it. I hope he uses it.

WHITFIELD: And Douglas, the issue of race, there is a recent CNN poll which shows that race is still an issue, still of great concern. There are many who still believe that racism is much an issue now as it was during the height of the civil rights movement. The CNN poll says that 39 percent of those polled believe that race relations are worse under this administration, and 15 percent say it is better, improved under this administration.

So I wonder, Douglas, from your perspective, especially as you look at the legacies of presidents, there isn't one like the experience of this president, particularly because he is the first black president, but it doesn't seem fair that this president would have to or is expected to bear the burden of being the fixer or the healer of race relations in this country, which still is an issue.

BRINKLEY: Well, that's right. You know, the point of history is to remind us that our own times are not uniquely oppressive, and we've got to be careful because back in the days of Selma in in '65, it was worse in the south. People -- there were all sorts of trickery to keep black people from voting. You had literacy tests you had to take and intimidation. That kind of thing still goes on, but we have come a long, long ways.

I think it's interesting that this has become a Democratic event, Selma. John Lewis, I've gone with Congressman Lewis to the Edmund Pettus Bridge with his faith in politics program. He's very interested in getting Republicans involved with this. And the fact that George W. Bush and Laura Bush are here I think speaks volumes for them, that they are willing to come here when a lot of Republican senators and congressmen just don't want bother to be there and are lending their help to this. George W. Bush extended the voting rights act when he was president.

So this is a moment, as Van is pointing out, that I think is one of the most significant speeches that Barack Obama will ever give is today. This is a culmination of his whole career. This is his Gettysburg Address moment. And he's exactly right. This is the speech the president who made a living as a writer before becoming president, this is one that he's been working on personally. It's going to have all the Obama rhetorical flourishes and emotional rollercoaster up and down. You can expect this to be one of the speeches when there's an Obama presidential library that words from this speech will be carved on the wall of that new building.

WHITFIELD: And Douglas, this is about looking forward. And I want you, if you could, to look forward. Might this be a starting point, or perhaps there's been a starting point for this president Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush to embark on a very special relationship, perhaps similar to how we have seen H. W. Bush and former president Clinton embark upon following their administrations, especially since it seems the commonality on, number one, extending those voting rights that you speak of that George W. Bush and the advocacy of such from this president Barack Obama.

JONES: That's a wonderful question. Remember, George W. Bush did so much to combat AIDS in Africa. He's been fairly progressive on immigration policy, or at least by Republican Party standards. And wanting to -- there's no doubt that George W. Bush wants to see people register to vote, considers that great Americanism. And there is potential here for Barack Obama and George W. Bush to perhaps create together a new kind of dialogue about race.

But remember, racism is the original curse of America. We have founding fathers who had slaves. The horrors of racism still lives with us, and a speech isn't going to eradicate that or a new government policy. We have to do a lot of education and teaching of tolerance in our schools. And I think the president will want to talk about that, you know, the possibility that new generations could fulfill Dr. King's dream that we do become every year more and more of a less racist and bigoted country. Keep in mind, this president also has a 100 percent rating from the NAACP, so whatever polls are saying there's economic frustration with Barack Obama, he's very beloved by the black community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I want to show you pictures now just coming in. We just turned this around. This is the arrival of the presidential motorcade traveling across the Edmund Pettus Bridge there. The president and first family arriving in Selma, Alabama, for this historic occasion, the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march.

And you see there the vehicles crossing the bridge, the crowd just erupting in applause. There are thousands of dignitaries, newsmakers, and ordinary folks who are paying home imagine to this historic occasion, and, of course, the president doing so with his own family in a very personal way. We know they're going to be crossing over that bridge by foot later.

But you see there the motorcade that has just arrived. The president will be speaking momentarily giving his own personal reflection and remarks about this historic occasion and what it has meant to him, his family, and to this country during a time that, of course, has been quit trying in terms of race relations for many people.

We also want to bring you some other news of the day that is making news at this hour. First, to Russia, Russian state media reports that officials now arrested two men in connection with the murder of opposition figure and Putin critic Boris Nemtsov. This more than just a week after attackers gunned Nemtsov down. This was yards from the Kremlin. And authorities say the suspects, they are from the north caucuses region. It's a hot bed of rebel activity. CNN's Matthew Chance has the very latest now from Moscow.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More than a week after the killing of Boris Nemtsov, Russian investigators say they made a breakthrough. The head of the Russian federal security service appearing on national television to announce that two people have been detained in connection with the killing which took place right here on this bridge in the center of Moscow a short distance from the Kremlin.

The two men have been named, and they say from the volatile north Caucasus region of southern Russia. President Vladimir Putin has denied any involvement in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition politician in Russia, and he's vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

But critics accuse the Kremlin of responsibility for the killing, if not directly ordering it. They have created an atmosphere in Russia in which those who oppose the government are seen as enemies of the state.

From Moscow, I'm Matthew Chance reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And officials are appealing for calm 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 Christian Barbarisi with our affiliate WKOW was on scene after the shooting, and she spoke earlier to CNN's NEW DAY.

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KRISTEN BARBARESI, REPORTER, WKOW: Immediately when we got down to the scene there were upwards of 20 police cars on scene. We quickly started to hear that it was officer involved, actually one of our state representatives Chris Taylor, she was actually across the street at the gas station. She heard the shots fired. She was told to get down.

She then came over to me and told me that this was an officer involved shooting. We then began to see protesters gathering as word spread that this was a black 19-year-old that had been shot and killed by an officer.

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

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

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

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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 the 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.

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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 with questions about why Clinton used that private account for government business instead of an official State Department account.

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

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

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

And we're now waiting for President Obama's remarks in Selma, Alabama. More of that coverage up next after a quick break.

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WHITFIELD: Well, welcome back to downtown historic Selma, Alabama. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These are the images when the president of the United States, the 44th president Barack Obama and the first family came across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and made their way right here into downtown Selma. Just take a listen to how the city of 20,000 and the roar of it, how it swelled to thousands more because of this 50th anniversary.

The president and his contingency there, they pulled over to the white tents where you see the vehicle. The majority of them are now in those white tents assembling. And we have all been wondering and trying to pontificate, where is Congressman John Lewis about now? Might he and the president be having their own private moment, perhaps even in that white tent?

John Lewis, the most recognizable man from the Edmund Pettus Bridge here in Selma in 1965. He was a 25-year-old man. Now he's a U.S. congressman, and many have said he really is one of the most courageous civil rights foot soldiers of American history.

And what it must feel like for this president, the first African- American president, to now, who also gave credit to the civil rights soldiers years ago, that he is standing on their shoulders. And now here he is in historic Selma, what it feels like for him.

There's an incredible crowd here. As I mentioned, this is a city of 20,000, but today perhaps it's 25,000, perhaps 30,000, maybe even more. No telling how many thousands have turned out for this. But guess what. In the thick of it all, our own Ryan Young is there amongst people finding out where so many have come from. And, Ryan, I met people who were from Minnesota, Arizona, New York. What have you encountered? Who have you encountered?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think I have you beat because I'm actually talking to a guy here who flew in from Vietnam to come back for this celebration. In fact, he's one of three soldiers who came just after the day, after Bloody Sunday, they felt the call to action so many years ago. And we talked about it before. You have this picture here from back then. Can you show us, everybody?

WHITFIELD: We're going to try that again. We're having a few technical problems out here. There's a lot of people, a lot of media folks, a lot and wires and cables. And so we lost the signal temporarily with Ryan Young. We'll try to reestablish when we can. Oh, wait a minute, I think we have it again. Ryan, I think you can continue now. We may have reworked the wiring.

YOUNG: No problem. It's, you know, you got to roll with live television. But this is a picture that shows these three foot soldiers who were here back in the day. And you were telling us, you felt it was important to come back for today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did because the voting rights fight isn't over yet, particularly since two years ago the Supreme Court made a ruling that actually weakened the civil rights law that we, or the voting rights law we fought hard to get past 50 years ago. So it's not over.

YOUNG: And you flew in all the way from Vietnam. Tell me why did you feel like it was necessary to come back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, a couple reasons. OK, first of all, it was a very important time in my life, an important thing that happened to me. And from this, from doing this, I moved down and did more work in the civil rights movement. I ended up in South Africa at one time. I did a lot of work down in South Africa. And so I've had a particular commitment which started all the way back then.

And then I think if you look at the country today, there's still problems. There's economic problems. Look around you in Selma. You can see it everywhere you look. There's economic problems. As Liz just said, there are still voting rights, people's access to the vote. And I lived in Australia for a while where it's compulsory to vote, everybody votes. It's just part of what we did. So I think it's important to, again, bear witness and testimony to what happened.

YOUNG: I want to make sure when you see all the people here, you see everyone standing together, all races and nationalities. Do you feel like you guys had some sort of success?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we did. In fact I think the reason I'm here is my daughter encouraged me to come. And I notice with her that what -- she takes racial equality as a given. And for her, it's a reality. For me, it was, you know, when I came down here, it was like coming to outer space. I had never seen anything like this before. And so I think at the time we didn't know how historical it was. We were kids. We were 17-years-old and it was an adventure. But in retrospect, you see how far we've come.

YOUNG: I totally agree with that. Let me see the picture if you don't mind. Show it again. It was cut off the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So this is Richard. That's me.

YOUNG: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's Richard's mom. That's Bob right here. And there was a fourth teenager also about 16 or 17, he's sitting here.

YOUNG: What was it like that day walking across the bridge?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. I think it was -- it was a little scary. I don't think any of us appreciated what we were walking into it. And there were hecklers on both sides, and there were armed -- there were armed people on both sides. And -- but we just kept walking. And it's really -- it's actually surprising how little I remember except that I know I was there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's important to say that, you know, when

we came, it was the third day, the big march, and there were troops lining, you know, the route. We were really protected. And I remember thinking, you know, the guys who were in Bloody Sunday, you know, without protection, you know, who went through what they went through and suffered what they went through, they are the real heroes. We came down when it was easy.

YOUNG: So you get some of the sentiments. I can tell you people have been walking through the crowd. They've been talking, sharing stories with each other. But when you hear that perspective, you have to understand why so many people are connected to this date and want to be here for this very moment.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Young, thank you so much. We'll check back with you in the crowd there, thousands who are here from every corner.

And also joining us right now, CNN political commentator Van Jones back with us in Austin, Texas. Also presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. And then look what the wind just blew in, Charles Blow, CNN political commentator as well. I say that because Charles, he was aboard Air Force One with the president and the first family. And so Charles, you made an effort to get here even though you were with the president and the first family but you climbed on through here. So can you tell us much about your experience with the president?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, the conversation, the interviews are going on a little bit later today, so I can't give you the exact details of it. However, he seemed very relaxed, very confident about what his mission would be here today in this particular speech and this moment and understanding his -- the context around him and this moment.

And I think, you know, one of the most striking things for us, the people who are traveling with him, was not even on the plane. It was driving here from the helicopter and all the people who lined the street, not even able to make a here but just lined the streets with signs and waving and him, his motorcade coming across this bridge and seeing all of these tens of thousands of people. And everybody, you know, in the van could understand what was happening in that moment, how big a moment it is for him and for America. It's not really even focused on him. I think it's an American moment. When we think about what's happened to the Voter Rights Act and that this march was about voting, and we think about that march being about young people being engaged and active and we have seen so many protests with young people being engaged and active and the meeting of those moments is more of what it's about.

WHITFIELD: And that route from Montgomery here, you couldn't avoid repeating the same path of that march from Selma to Montgomery, that historic markers.

BLOW: We took the helicopter from Montgomery to here, to Selma, but from where the helicopter landed to here, you did have to trace part of where they walked. And when people realized that, what we were doing, because we didn't really understand where we would be traveling and how we would get here, and we realized we were coming across the bridge and meeting the crowd face-to-face in the caravan, I think it was -- it made people understand the history.

WHITFIELD: And people forget. There were three moments in that march of 1965. There was the Bloody Sunday right here on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and then days later Reverend King called in a number of clergymen from across the country, turned around Tuesday, they walked on that bridge where they turned around. And then a week later they would make that historic march and walk that started out with a few hundred and swelled to 25,000 by the time they walked over five days to Montgomery.

JONES: Yes, unbelievable. And, you know, you saw it from your point of view coming in. Here, you have the anticipation just building and building. People are waiting. He's coming. He's coming. But that bridge, not one vehicle moved all morning. And then suddenly, to see the motorcade, the presidential motorcade, the president of the United States coming here to redeem a country, to finish the promise. It was electric. I mean, people, the people, if you could have been here, you would have been in tears. I'm sure you were in tears there, but this is a huge moment for America.

I think the contrast of seeing that name, that Edmund Pettus Bridge, it's iconic but it's a painful name. It's a name of a grand wizard. And then here comes the president of the United States over that bridge. The lights going, the flags are flying, and you have a redemption story for a nation like you've never seen before.

WHITFIELD: And here's a replay of the moment, and Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian in Austin, if I could bring you into this conversation because I heard from you earlier. You said this is a powerful, big, heavy speech from the president. You heard Charles Blow underscore the same similar words that you used. Why is this speech -- this president is known as being a great orator, but there's something about this speech, this place in this time that really does cement, perhaps, all the speeches or many of the speeches, and his legacy?

BRINKLEY: That's right. I think Selma, for this president was a coming of age moment. He was a child when it happened, but he heard all the stories about Selma. And, you know, he is a great reader. "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison is one the president's favorite books. And the autobiography of Malcolm X inspired him a great deal. He's really a scholar of the civil rights movement, a historian of it. So he understands the symbolism of today, what it means 50 years for him to be able to come to Selma.

And he's not going to be just speaking to the people there. When Selma happened like Lyndon Johnson watching it on his television in the White House, Rosa Parks was in Detroit and caught images of Bloody Sunday. It woke up a nation and was, I think, the major hinge point, the turning point for voting rights in the United States, and so the president has opportunity to give one of his very special speeches. He's able to do this once in a while. And he -- I find when he speaks about race, he's always very elegant and eloquent, and I'm sure that that will be the case today.

WHITFIELD: And, Van, the president will see this entry point of Selma. He won't see all of Selma, but you do see a lot that sets the tone on your journey to Selma from Montgomery. What do you suppose, if you could kind of get into his head, because you know him, what might he have been thinking when he saw there were so many cotton fields. This is called the black belt because of the rich black soil and the farmland here. And there's still a lot of farmland on the way here, and along the way there are markers of where so many of the marchers slept on friendly farmland because they had no other place to bed down that night during their journey to Montgomery. But what do you suppose, especially since Douglas underscored this is a president who is well-read. He's a historian.

JONES: He is.

WHITFIELD: What do you suppose he was thinking when he saw these markers, these places?

JONES: I know that he was thinking two things at the same time, how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Part of the challenge, rural poverty. As you look at the numbers, the data, it's really, really bad. And we have I think people who invested so much hope in the president. And he I think wanted to be able to do more. He had a hard time finding a good partner on the Republican side at times, and so I know he's looking at that clock, and he's saying if I only have a few more years to be in this office I'm going to do everything that I can.

I bet he will have a sense of renewal. Everybody acts as if leaders don't need to be renewed. People act like the big people don't have bad days or don't get down or don't feel frustrated. This will be a moment of renewal for him to look out in the crowd and see the old folks who had it much tougher than he ever had it and to see young people who don't know what their future is, and he gets the chance to not only be the commander in chief but in some ways the visionary, the minister in chief. That's a role he likes a lot.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and Douglas --

JONES: He does it well.

WHITFIELD: Presidential historian, you have written many books on many presidents, many papers. And I wonder if you could share with us what would your framework be for President Obama's presidency? Clearly he has another year-and-a-half, but what are some of the flash points you're thinking of that you would write about if you were to help document his journey as a president?

BRINKLEY: Well, that he didn't to be the African-American president. He wanted to be a Mount Rushmore president, that he wanted to be seen as somebody who cared about all the American people. In fact the president keeps talking about Selma being about Latinos getting the rights to vote and Native Americans, and people, poor people in general. So -- but overall, I think his presidency's been a firewall presidency. There's been an attempt to tear down the New Deal, Great Society, progressive legislation, things like Medicaid and Medicare and civil rights acts, or environmental regulations. And the president has said, no. These have been hard earned and we're not turning the clock backwards.

But in a more general way, the war on terror has consumed him a great deal and he had inherited the great recession. And the fact that although there is too much poverty in America, the economy does seem to be better than it was when he inherited it. If he leaves office with unemployment at 5.3 percent or something like that, he will be able to claim in history that he got us out of the great depression, and that Obamacare was part of the great society revolution that did not get done, the health care piece, and he was able to accomplish that.

WHITFIELD: Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley out of Austin, thanks so much. I know you're going to stick with us as well as political commentator Van Jones right at my side here. Thanks so much. We'll get back to both of you gentlemen in a moment. And we're going to continue our live coverage of Selma, the president's arrival just moments away to that podium behind me right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to our special live coverage here in downtown Selma, Alabama. The president of the United States and the first family and former president George W. Bush and the former first lady Laura, all here and just moment away from hearing from the president here, President Obama.

So when in 1965 and just before that, so many civil rights foot soldiers came here to plan, to march, to try to make a plan about where to go next and how to go about it, they didn't have a place to say. They did not have hotel rooms. But they did find space in people's homes, people who were willing to open their doors to them, some living in projects, some living in small clapboard homes.

Our Athena Jones caught up with one family, Sullivan Jackson, the Jackson family opened their doors to Martin Luther King, Jr. while they planned here. What was that conversation like?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We had a chance to tour this home, a very special place. The daughter of Dr. Sullivan gave us a tour of the home, her parents, her father, a black dentist. Her parents opened up this home to Martin Luther King, Jr., other civil rights activists. It was to play an essential role in the movement. It was where he ate, where he slept, and where he and other activists strategized while they were here in Selma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAWANA JACKSON, HOME OWNER: If these walls could talk, they would tell a story of a family here in Selma that had tried to give and contribute, and they would also tell a story of a movement. JONES: On Lapsley Drive in Selma, Alabama, sits a house where time

has stood still.

JACKSON: This is the bedroom in which Dr. King would entertain all of the phone calls that would come into the home from President Johnson and the White House. This is the actual phone that he would use to take the calls.

JONES: Did you ever hear his end of the conversation?

JACKSON: I would hear a voice. I could not understand it, but I could hear the tone and intonations of what I now know to be very, very serious conversations.

JONES: This home and a young Juwana Jackson were depicted in the Oscar nominated movie, "Selma."

You were five-years-old at the time.

JACKSON: I was five-years-old. I remember the wonderful bedtime stories that he used to read to me. "Humpty Dumpty" was one of his favorite.

JONES: Tell me about the room.

JACKSON: This is the exact room where Dr. King, who was still living in the home, was sitting the night that President Johnson gave his famous "We shall overcome" speech. This is the actual chair. This is the television. All the furniture in this room is original.

JONES: How many people are we talking about would be here at any one time?

JACKSON: Some days there was 20, 30 people. There were times when people had to sign up for bathroom and bathtub space. Very often people would sleep in the bathtubs. This is the room that Dr. King and his staff met the morning of the Selma, Montgomery march. They booted up in this room, and they had also had a prayer session in this room. This was the home that sheltered the movement. It was the home that gave the people that led this movement comfort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: That's one of Selma's many stories, and it really was a treasure being able to go and see that home and see everything pretty much unchanged, Fred.

WHITFIELD: It really is remarkable they were able to preserve it because we are talking about a city that has a lot of big problems and it's hard for people to afford maintaining their own homes let alone maintain a treasure, and in this case, a family treasure.

JONES: Absolutely. You know, the daughter, Juwana Jackson, now lives in Atlanta. She came down special to Selma to give us the tour. And it's remained as is. Her parents specifically decided not to change anything. Even the coverings on the chairs and the wicker chairs around the dining table and the China, it's all the same as it was back in 1965.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

JONES: It's pretty Remarkable.

WHITFIELD: That is remarkable, fantastic. Thanks so much Athena for bringing that to us and the perspective of the Jackson family.

We have so much straight ahead. Of course, the president of the United States, that's the highly anticipated moment here, why thousands of people have descended on this city. We'll have much more of our live coverage right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and welcome back to our live coverage here in downtown historic Selma, Alabama. And just a moment ago there was a buzz of excitement, and people thought maybe the president of the United States was about to walk out, but instead it was his two daughters. A very statuesque and beautiful Sasha and Malia who are now in the front row there taking their seats. Momentarily the president will be coming out and delivering his 40 minute address.

Meantime let's take a look back. Selma mayor Joe Smitherman, he was in office the day of Bloody Sunday and he held office for 36 years until he died in 2005. Well, his daughter Dianne tells me in a very rare sit down conversation that she remembers when he, her dad, received a phone call from Governor Wallace not to let the marchers not to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years ago. And she tells me that she is still very proud of his history.

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WHITFIELD: Would there be an interpretation by people that your dad stood for racism because he allowed that confrontation to happen?

DIANNE SMITHERMAN, SELMA MAYOR'S DAUGHTER: My father did not stand for racism. He did not allow it. He was ordered by the governor of Alabama. He did not allow it.

WHITFIELD: He was conflicted?

SMITHERMAN: No, he was not conflicted. The edge of the bridge is federal highway. Selma stops at the foot of the bridge. The governor ordered that, not Mayor Joe Smitherman.

WHITFIELD: So what do you want people to know about your dad and his leadership, particularly on this weekend as the 50th anniversary is commemorated?

SMITHERMAN: I want them to know he was not a racist. Yes, he was a segregationist. And 99 percent of the people in the south were segregationists, including the blacks. But as time wore on and times changed, he changed. Everybody changed. He was the man that could change. He was not a racist. WHITFIELD: Did you see your dad change?

SMITHERMAN: We all changed. We all evolved. I didn't even know what racism was. I didn't know what segregation was. That's just the way we lived. But you're talking about in the '60s. Certainly that is not there now.

WHITFIELD: What way do you think you evolved?

SMITHERMAN: I had no problem. As I said, we had freedom of choice when I was in high school. And they were great classmates. I mean, just accepting a person for who that person is rather than the color of your skin, and that's the way my daddy was as he evolved. He accepted people for the way they were and not the color of their skin.

WHITFIELD: Last question. There have been some discussions really outside of Selma about the change of the name of the Edmund Pettus Bridge because he was the grand wizard, head of the Klan, and some people thought that offensive. Do you have any view as to whether the name of the bridge matters? If it should be renamed, or if it should just remain as a symbol --

SMITHERMAN: I think it's ironic that it was grand wizard, and guess who got voting rights by marching on that bridge? So I think that's kind of good. That bridge is made more famous by the movie "Selma." It was an icon on the Academy Awards. Why change that now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that conversation with Dianne Smitherman, the daughter of the late Selma mayor Joe Smitherman, who was in office here for 36 years including that time of Bloody Sunday. We have much more coming live from Selma as we await the president's arrival to the podium right over my shoulder just at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge just moments away. We'll be right back.

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