US Presidency
2015

They did as Scripture instructed: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came â€“ - black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope. A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. To those who marched, though, those old gospel songs must have never sounded so sweet. In time, their chorus would well up and reach President Johnson. And he would send them protection, and speak to the nation, echoing their call for America and the world to hear: We shall overcome. What enormous faith these men and women had. Faith in God, but also faith in America. The Americans who crossed this bridge, they were not physically imposing. But they gave courage to millions.