The Walk That Changed the World Blue Peter

In March 2015, one of the most powerful men in the world,

President of the USA, Barack Obama,

gave a moving speech from this bridge in America.

Our march is not yet finished.

But we're getting closer.

CHEERING

And in this special Blue Peter, I'll show you what those words meant.

I'm taking you on an incredible journey following in the footsteps

of one of my heroes, a man named Martin Luther King.

51 years ago, he led a march to make sure black Americans could have

equal rights and I'm going to walk the same route he took.

All 54 miles of it.

Over four days, I'll eat the same food...

THEY LAUGH

..sing the same songs... THEY SING

..and find out why thousands of marchers

chose to make that journey together.

We'll be remembering the walk which changed the world.

My story begins not in America

but here in my home town of Wolverhampton.

Growing up being mixed race,

I became aware that I looked different to many of my friends

and some people would even make fun of this.

When I was seven, I vividly remember how I felt, where I was,

what I was doing, when somebody insulted me

about the colour of my skin and I was really upset

and I went home and told my family all about it and it was only then

that I realised that it could ever actually be an issue.

But I wanted to find out

if it was any different for my sister Rufaro. So I'm meeting her

at our family church, that we've been coming to since we were young.

So obviously there, we can see Mum, we can see Dad.

We're from the same parents, we're mixed race

and what does being mixed race mean to you?

I felt really proud being mixed race but I've realised, growing up,

that that's not all I am.

I suppose for me, I often felt growing up that I had lots

of friends, I had lots of people I really liked and admired and looked

up to but I didn't necessarily fit into a particular group.

I felt many insecurities about my hair, about my nose.

I think you need to realise that

there's beauty in many different things.

Growing up and feeling as though you don't fit in

because of the way that you look can be tough but if we'd

grown up in America at one time, things would have been a lot harder.

And I'm going to show you exactly how tough it was by taking

a trip back to my old school.

CLASSROOM NOISE

So I've got a little bit of a task for you all.

I'd like you to come up and choose a T-shirt,

either a white T-shirt or a black T-shirt.

Off you go.

If you're wearing a white T-shirt, I'd like you to move to this

side of the classroom and if you're in a black T-shirt,

I'd like you to come to this side of the room.

How many of you are wearing the black T-shirts

have a friend wearing the white T-shirts?

So how would that make you feel if I said, just because of a colour that

you're wearing, you couldn't have anything to do with one another?

Unhappy.

-Lonely.

-Miserable.

It seems unbelievable to us now that right up to the 1960s

America was divided.

Being black stopped you going to the same school, eating at the same

table and even using the same toilets as white people.

This was known as segregation.

That actually happened in America a long time ago.

How fair do you think that is?

It's very unfair.

It wouldn't be very nice.

You'd be really lonely.

If you've got a friend or a cousin who is black or white and you can't

see them at all, just cos of your skin tone, it's just really unfair.

Many people at the time also thought this was wrong

and they protested and this became known as the Civil Rights Movement.

I don't have many heroes but one of them

is a man called Martin Luther King

and the reason he's my hero is because of his courage.

He stood up and he helped change the world to make it a fairer place

for everyone, no matter what they looked like.

He wanted to make sure that black Americans had the same rights

as white Americans.

And that's why I'm travelling to one of the most important sites

in all of Martin Luther King's fight for civil rights.

Right here.

This is the city of Selma in the state of Alabama, USA.

It's an American city like many others.

It has a post office, it has a police station

and it was right here that a moment of history happened which

would change the way black people would be treated in America.

In 1965, black Americans were legally allowed to vote

but, as many of them were poor and couldn't read or write,

obstacles like literacy tests made registering to vote difficult.

So the civil rights leaders chose Selma as the place to stand up

against this injustice

and they wanted to do that with a protest march.

And so the protesters decided to march from Selma

to the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, 54 miles that way.

They wanted to draw as much attention as possible

to their fight, which was to make voting fair for everyone and so they

felt that in the important city of Montgomery, they could do just that.

And that's why I'm here, to walk in the footsteps of the marchers

and travel down the very same road they did.

I'm setting off on a journey so close to my heart,

to discover how people stood up for what they believed in.

I'll be meeting some of the people who were actually there

and those who the march still affects today.

Covering the 54-mile route in just four days, it's time to get started.

# Well, ain't gonna let nobody, Lawdy

# Turn me round, I said Turn me around, well

# Turn me around Ain't gonna let nobody... #

'The long-anticipated Freedom March

'from Selma to Alabama's Capitol of Montgomery finally gets under way.'

# Keep on a-talking, marching up to freedom land. #

On 7 March, 1965, around 600 protesters gathered here

outside the Brown AME chapel in Selma,

with the intention of marching that way.

But before I follow in their footsteps,

I want to meet a man who was at the front of the group,

Rev Frederick Rees.

I've got to start by saying, when I'm in my 80s,

I want to look like you. Look at your suit!

That is...that is such a nice suit.

Tired of it being difficult for black Americans to vote,

Rev Rees had organised a series of peaceful demonstrations to try

and bring about change.

How difficult was it to vote back then?

Well, back then,

it was very difficult to become registered voters.

And therefore, there were few blacks that were registered.

'Determined to do something about this,'

it was from these very steps that the reverend led this march

but some of the earlier protests had been met with violence,

so they were taking a huge risk.

You know, when you start thinking about how important being

a first-class citizen in a city that you live in,

and how you had been denied certain basic opportunities,

then you could gain courage.

Then I had to show the kind of courage to lead others,

not to accept second-class citizenship.

It's hard to imagine what those involved must have been feeling

when they risked their own safety setting off on that route.

And it's that exact same 54 miles that I'll be walking.

Leaving Selma, over four days,

I'll walk to the city of Montgomery just like the march did.

Before I leave Selma, I'm meeting some of the locals to find out

what the marches mean to them.

What's your name? Yes. Good to meet you. Good to meet you all.

-Is my impression good, y'all? ALL:

-No!

-Ain't good?

-No-one here talks like that.

OK, so in this little group here, so we're around 10 and 11.

That's the age that some people were on the actual march itself.

What would you think about that?

It would scare me a little bit but if there's a chance that

I might still be able to get my right to vote, I'm going for it.

Even though there was a lot of danger, they were earning

their rights and they were like, "OK, this is my freedom.

"This is a part of my freedom and I want it."

And it was that desire to see change

that drove the marchers to walk that Sunday morning in 1965,

despite the risk of violence.

Yet, as they made their way through Selma, they found it eerily quiet.

Well, that was until they came here, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge,

which you can see just over there.

It's on the outskirts of Selma.

This is the very same bridge on which President Obama

made his powerful speech,

a speech inspired by events that unfolded on that Sunday in 1965.

As the protesters walked to the far side of the bridge,

they were met by a wall of police.

It must have been a terrifying sight for anyone but just imagine

how you would have felt if you were eight years old,

because that's how old Sheyann Webb was.

So Sheyann, at this point here, we can see the end of the bridge.

What would you have seen at this stage?

This was a devastating picture.

I can see hundreds of policemen with tear-gas masks,

state troopers on horses.

You can see that something was going to happen.

As the crowds moved forward,

the police charged their horses and attacked those on the bridge.

It left over 50 marchers in hospital.

As I was running, I could see other people running, some falling

and some even crawling.

And I'll never forget the late Hosea Williams picking me up,

as my little feet were still galloping in his arms.

And I turned to him, very frightened,

and I said to him in my own childish voice,

"Put me down, because you're not running fast enough."

Television cameras caught what happened on the bridge.

It shocked lots of people and made them think

about how black people were treated in places like Selma.

One of those watching was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement,

and my hero, Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King actually wasn't on that very first march but, as

soon as he found out what happened, he came to Selma straightaway.

And because he knew how many people thought what happened was wrong,

he pleaded with them to come and join him.

And they did.

Inspired by what they'd seen, people joined from all over America.

Although the first march ended on the bridge and the second

turned back, two weeks later, the crowd gathered for a final time

and now, led by Martin Luther King, they were legally allowed to march.

And following in their footsteps, I'm leaving Selma

and covering the first seven miles of the route,

taking me to Halls Farm,

where those on the march spent their first night.

It's a real privilege to get to walk on this road

and although ultimately, it's just a pretty busy stretch of tarmac,

it's actually a road which has helped change history.

And thinking about the incredible people that I've met,

and the sacrifice they've made,

well, who knows what's around the corner?

Day two on my incredible journey, following a march that

helped to bring voting rights to millions of black Americans.

Over the next 48 hours, I have to cover a whopping 30 miles,

and I'm doing it all on foot, so I'd better get going.

There are a lot of insects around here

and they REALLY like the taste of my shins!

This right here - corn field!

That's real cotton.

Oh, I'm tired!

Sweat marks. They look pretty cool, don't they?

They'll be all the rage back in Britain.

Just like the marchers, I'm heading towards the important

city of Montgomery, which was the headquarters for local

government and had a direct link to the President of the time,

Lyndon B Johnson.

The marchers walked up to 12 hours a day

but for me in the Alabama heat, it's hard going.

Although I'm hot, I've got really nicely ventilated T-shirt,

shorts, trainers as well. They didn't have that.

They just had shoes like you'd wear at school.

They had a shirt that they were wearing.

Not the kind of stuff you'd want to be wearing

when walking 54 miles and it's just kind of that that makes me

even more in awe of those incredible people.

# We shall overcome... #

One essential thing they needed to keep marching was food.

They were walking too far to carry their own,

so volunteers would prepare meals and deliver them along the way.

# We shall overcome... #

Louisa Miles was one of those volunteers.

She's treating me to a classic American breakfast called grits,

which was served to the marchers, and she still eats it every day.

-Every day?

-Every day.

-And you're just 80 years old,

so the key to long age - eating grits every morning!

THEY LAUGH

To make grits, you'll need some ground cornmeal, some water,

butter and a pinch of salt.

OK, here goes!

-That's good.

-Grits is good. Good for you, too.

Making grits outside on a small stove

has stirred a strong memory for Louisa.

# Swing low

# Sweet chariot

# Coming for to carry me home... #

RECORDING: # Swing low... #

I'm now 21 miles in and Louisa's singing has really moved me.

Singing was used by the marchers to keep their spirits high

on this long, gruelling walk

and I want to find out more, so I'm heading to a march

memorial garden, to see the powerful effects song can have for myself.

# Ride on, King Jesus... #

Oh, Wow!

# No man can a-hinder Thee... #

Look at this.

# Ride on, King Jesus, ride... #

Canaan Hill Baptist Choir still sing gospel songs and freedom music

that were popular at the time of the Civil Rights Movement.

# Ride on, King Jesus. #

That was absolutely beautiful.

Thank you very much.

There's a lot of power in that music.

What does it mean to you?

Well, music during the civil rights time,

it was something like to unite them as one and to come together

and to not think about what they would have to go through

while they were walking, not to think about being tired or anything.

Some people don't speak up on what they're feeling, what they're

going through, but whereas the songs and music, you can, so...

# No man can a-hinder Thee... #

It's incredible to feel the power of that music for myself

and I can only imagine how it must have inspired the marchers.

But as I hit the road the next day, I can't help thinking that

as well as food and music,

there was another key ingredient that drove the marchers on.

The main thing that I'm thinking about is the word courage.

Would I have had the courage to do what I'm doing now back then?

For decades, black Americans had been treated

as second-class citizens in the Deep South.

They were separated from white people in many everyday places,

like sport fields, theatres, and even on buses.

As well as this, they were often poor and ill educated.

So they found fighting even for the basic right to vote a huge struggle.

To bring about change, they had to stand up to the authorities

and protest.

So it was courage that helped them

to march forward for equal rights in their country.

I'm now over halfway on my journey and I'm visiting somewhere

I can see for myself how that courage has changed life today.

But first, I've been challenged to a little game.

These guys here at Southside High School.

I'm talking about football - American football.

'They're going to give me a crash course in how to field

'a football and, trust me, it's harder than it looks!'

Set, hut!

Now I'd like to think I know how to throw a ball,

but this is totally different.

HE LAUGHS Hut!

'There are just so many things to think about. '

Oh, sorry! I thought he was going to run a bit further, you see.

That's what that was.

'After a few - quite a few - attempts...'

-I didn't know what was going on.

-Hut!

'..I think I should leave the American football to these guys!'

I suppose once upon a time,

not all of you guys would have been able to be in the same team,

go to the same school, drink from the same fountain.

Do you ever think about that at all?

I grew up with a lot of white friends during my childhood.

Even went to play basketball and swim. Maybe even fought -

play fight with each other,

so it would be kind of weird not being around people

who I call my best friends and who may be of the opposite race, though.

We don't judge people by what colour their skin -

red, black, white, purple, green. I mean, we're just people.

A lot of the people who sit on this bench

are able to sit together because of the sacrifices that our

forefathers and our ancestors from 60 years, 50 years ago made for us.

# Yeah, oh... #

It's incredible how one march, 51 years ago,

has changed life today.

But back in 1965, life was far from equal for black Americans.

And the marchers still had a long way to go to reach Montgomery.

So I must follow in their footsteps once again.

'It's my final day of walking and, like the marchers all those

'years before, I'm getting close to Montgomery.'

On 25 March, 1965, Martin Luther King and his supporters woke

and began their final trek into Alabama State Capitol.

They were tired and weary but driven by a desire for change,

to make it easier for them to vote.

# Yeah, to the land... #

They'd been on the road for four days.

They faced heavy rain, intimidation, they'd eaten very little

and they'd been sleeping in makeshift camp sites.

# I'm on my way... #

As they walked towards Montgomery,

the numbers swelled and more and more people joined them.

Hundreds became thousands and then tens of thousands.

Some people estimate that when they began to arrive in Montgomery,

25,000 people were in that group

and that's because they sensed that something was about to happen.

Something big.

I'm now on the final straight and, like the march,

my numbers swelled too.

I can see the State Capitol Building.

How do you think the marchers would have felt 50 years ago,

finally seeing that incredible building?

I think they'd feel glad that they could see it.

They can finally see that their goal has paid off and they're here

and they're excited.

I'm nearly there. My long walk is almost over

but what would it have been like for the marchers?

Can you imagine the celebration?

Thousands of people, jubilant scenes.

And so the long walk was over.

And right at the bottom of those stairs, right there,

in front of a crowd of 25,000 people, with the backdrop of

the Capitol Building, my hero Martin Luther King addressed the crowd.

He spoke about hope that after all their efforts on the march,

change would come.

One of those in the crowd that day was Elton Dean.

Aged 15, he walked out of school to join the march

and to hear Martin Luther King speak.

And you saw Martin Luther King himself, my hero.

You actually saw him speak.

I saw him. I saw him.

Just to see a man of his stature,

a black man, sit up and make appeals to the world.

I mean, that's what he did that day.

He made appeals. You know, he was just a wonderful man.

I've never seen anybody since him take that kind of position.

Nobody talks like him.

They don't think like him.

I owe him a lot

and I owe a lot to the people who marched for the right to vote.

Martin Luther King wanted his words to be heard by more than

the crowd stood in front of him.

He wanted them to be heard 800 miles away.

He wanted it to be heard here in Washington DC,

where the President of the USA

and the people that pass its laws are based.

And they did hear.

Five months after the march arrived at Montgomery,

the President of America, Lyndon B Johnson,

passed a law called the Voting Rights Act,

which made it much easier for black people to vote.

It was a huge moment for those who fought so hard for change,

like Congressman John Lewis.

He was one of the leaders of the march.

-It's an absolute honour to meet you.

-Good to meet you, sir.

'And today, he plays a part in passing the laws that affect

'millions of Americans.'

What do you think would have happened if, in 1965,

you hadn't marched?

If we had not marched, maybe, just maybe, it would have taken

many more years

to get a Voting Rights Act passed and signed into law.

But do you think it's changed the world?

I think the march from Selma to Montgomery had a major impact

on not just American community, but the world community.

How would you like what you and a very select group of people did,

how would you like that to be remembered?

I'd just like for people to know that a group of people

just tried to help out.

We, at the time, didn't know or realise

that what we were doing was so significant.

We was just trying to change things.

How close to achieving equality do you think we are now?

We have come a distance. We've come a great distance.

The signs are gone, but we still have invisible signs.

Whether America or even the world is equal for everyone

is still very much up for debate

but some things definitely have still changed.

In the 51 years since those marchers set foot on the road

out of Selma, America has gone from a country in which black people

found it nearly impossible to vote, to having a black President.

Congratulations, Mr President.

CHEERING

And the marchers played a huge part in that change.

When he was sworn in as President,

he wrote on a little programme, he said, "John, it's because of you."

The march touched the lives of millions and, as my walk comes

to an end, it has one last surprise in store for me.

"To Radzi, I'm very proud of you

"and glad you're able to go on this journey.

"I thank you for representing our family on this journey

"and I'm not able to be with you physically,

"but I'm with you in spirit.

"I look forward to seeing you and hearing all your stories." Aw!

That's really nice. That's from my sister, Rufaro.

To get a letter like that from my sister,

here, in a place that essentially helped change the world,

and give people equality, that's amazing.

So for the people who say "I want to help the world,

"I want to improve the world," what could they do?

In the days, months and years to come, we all, all of us,

it doesn't matter how young or how old you are,

we all can be just a little more human.

Just be human.

Never put anyone down

because of their race, their colour.

Be kind.

And never hate.

Love everybody. The way of love is a better way.

This has been a journey I'll never forget.

I've met some inspirational people who risked everything to stand up

against something they thought was wrong.

What they did didn't take skill, speed or superhuman strength,

but what it did take was courage.

More than I could ever imagine.

It was a walk that gave black people in America the freedom to vote.

It gave them a voice.

It was a walk that made people think

about how to treat those around them.

It was a walk that changed the world.