0:00:03 > 0:00:07In March 2015, one of the most powerful men in the world,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09President of the USA, Barack Obama,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12gave a moving speech from this bridge in America.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Our march is not yet finished.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But we're getting closer.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19CHEERING
0:00:19 > 0:00:23And in this special Blue Peter, I'll show you what those words meant.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27I'm taking you on an incredible journey following in the footsteps
0:00:27 > 0:00:31of one of my heroes, a man named Martin Luther King.
0:00:31 > 0:00:3551 years ago, he led a march to make sure black Americans could have
0:00:35 > 0:00:38equal rights and I'm going to walk the same route he took.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42All 54 miles of it.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Over four days, I'll eat the same food...
0:00:45 > 0:00:46THEY LAUGH
0:00:46 > 0:00:49..sing the same songs... THEY SING
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..and find out why thousands of marchers
0:00:51 > 0:00:53chose to make that journey together.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57We'll be remembering the walk which changed the world.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04My story begins not in America
0:01:04 > 0:01:08but here in my home town of Wolverhampton.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Growing up being mixed race,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I became aware that I looked different to many of my friends
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and some people would even make fun of this.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20When I was seven, I vividly remember how I felt, where I was,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22what I was doing, when somebody insulted me
0:01:22 > 0:01:25about the colour of my skin and I was really upset
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and I went home and told my family all about it and it was only then
0:01:29 > 0:01:32that I realised that it could ever actually be an issue.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33But I wanted to find out
0:01:33 > 0:01:36if it was any different for my sister Rufaro. So I'm meeting her
0:01:36 > 0:01:39at our family church, that we've been coming to since we were young.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41So obviously there, we can see Mum, we can see Dad.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43We're from the same parents, we're mixed race
0:01:43 > 0:01:45and what does being mixed race mean to you?
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I felt really proud being mixed race but I've realised, growing up,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52that that's not all I am.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I suppose for me, I often felt growing up that I had lots
0:01:56 > 0:01:59of friends, I had lots of people I really liked and admired and looked
0:01:59 > 0:02:03up to but I didn't necessarily fit into a particular group.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I felt many insecurities about my hair, about my nose.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I think you need to realise that
0:02:08 > 0:02:11there's beauty in many different things.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Growing up and feeling as though you don't fit in
0:02:14 > 0:02:16because of the way that you look can be tough but if we'd
0:02:16 > 0:02:21grown up in America at one time, things would have been a lot harder.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25And I'm going to show you exactly how tough it was by taking
0:02:25 > 0:02:27a trip back to my old school.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31CLASSROOM NOISE
0:02:31 > 0:02:34So I've got a little bit of a task for you all.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I'd like you to come up and choose a T-shirt,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39either a white T-shirt or a black T-shirt.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Off you go.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47If you're wearing a white T-shirt, I'd like you to move to this
0:02:47 > 0:02:50side of the classroom and if you're in a black T-shirt,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54I'd like you to come to this side of the room.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56How many of you are wearing the black T-shirts
0:02:56 > 0:02:59have a friend wearing the white T-shirts?
0:02:59 > 0:03:04So how would that make you feel if I said, just because of a colour that
0:03:04 > 0:03:07you're wearing, you couldn't have anything to do with one another?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Unhappy.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- Lonely.- Miserable.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15It seems unbelievable to us now that right up to the 1960s
0:03:15 > 0:03:18America was divided.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Being black stopped you going to the same school, eating at the same
0:03:22 > 0:03:25table and even using the same toilets as white people.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27This was known as segregation.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32That actually happened in America a long time ago.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34How fair do you think that is?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37It's very unfair.
0:03:37 > 0:03:38It wouldn't be very nice.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41You'd be really lonely.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47If you've got a friend or a cousin who is black or white and you can't
0:03:47 > 0:03:52see them at all, just cos of your skin tone, it's just really unfair.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Many people at the time also thought this was wrong
0:03:56 > 0:04:01and they protested and this became known as the Civil Rights Movement.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I don't have many heroes but one of them
0:04:06 > 0:04:09is a man called Martin Luther King
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and the reason he's my hero is because of his courage.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15He stood up and he helped change the world to make it a fairer place
0:04:15 > 0:04:18for everyone, no matter what they looked like.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22He wanted to make sure that black Americans had the same rights
0:04:22 > 0:04:24as white Americans.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And that's why I'm travelling to one of the most important sites
0:04:27 > 0:04:31in all of Martin Luther King's fight for civil rights.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Right here.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40This is the city of Selma in the state of Alabama, USA.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It's an American city like many others.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45It has a post office, it has a police station
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and it was right here that a moment of history happened which
0:04:49 > 0:04:52would change the way black people would be treated in America.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58In 1965, black Americans were legally allowed to vote
0:04:58 > 0:05:01but, as many of them were poor and couldn't read or write,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06obstacles like literacy tests made registering to vote difficult.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10So the civil rights leaders chose Selma as the place to stand up
0:05:10 > 0:05:12against this injustice
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and they wanted to do that with a protest march.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And so the protesters decided to march from Selma
0:05:21 > 0:05:25to the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, 54 miles that way.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29They wanted to draw as much attention as possible
0:05:29 > 0:05:34to their fight, which was to make voting fair for everyone and so they
0:05:34 > 0:05:39felt that in the important city of Montgomery, they could do just that.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And that's why I'm here, to walk in the footsteps of the marchers
0:05:42 > 0:05:46and travel down the very same road they did.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I'm setting off on a journey so close to my heart,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53to discover how people stood up for what they believed in.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57I'll be meeting some of the people who were actually there
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and those who the march still affects today.
0:06:02 > 0:06:10Covering the 54-mile route in just four days, it's time to get started.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16# Well, ain't gonna let nobody, Lawdy
0:06:16 > 0:06:20# Turn me round, I said Turn me around, well
0:06:20 > 0:06:22# Turn me around Ain't gonna let nobody... #
0:06:24 > 0:06:26'The long-anticipated Freedom March
0:06:26 > 0:06:30'from Selma to Alabama's Capitol of Montgomery finally gets under way.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:36# Keep on a-talking, marching up to freedom land. #
0:06:36 > 0:06:42On 7 March, 1965, around 600 protesters gathered here
0:06:42 > 0:06:44outside the Brown AME chapel in Selma,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48with the intention of marching that way.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50But before I follow in their footsteps,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I want to meet a man who was at the front of the group,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Rev Frederick Rees.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I've got to start by saying, when I'm in my 80s,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02I want to look like you. Look at your suit!
0:07:02 > 0:07:05That is...that is such a nice suit.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Tired of it being difficult for black Americans to vote,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Rev Rees had organised a series of peaceful demonstrations to try
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and bring about change.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18How difficult was it to vote back then?
0:07:18 > 0:07:19Well, back then,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22it was very difficult to become registered voters.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26And therefore, there were few blacks that were registered.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28'Determined to do something about this,'
0:07:28 > 0:07:32it was from these very steps that the reverend led this march
0:07:32 > 0:07:35but some of the earlier protests had been met with violence,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37so they were taking a huge risk.
0:07:37 > 0:07:43You know, when you start thinking about how important being
0:07:43 > 0:07:47a first-class citizen in a city that you live in,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52and how you had been denied certain basic opportunities,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55then you could gain courage.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Then I had to show the kind of courage to lead others,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04not to accept second-class citizenship.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07It's hard to imagine what those involved must have been feeling
0:08:07 > 0:08:11when they risked their own safety setting off on that route.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And it's that exact same 54 miles that I'll be walking.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Leaving Selma, over four days,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I'll walk to the city of Montgomery just like the march did.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Before I leave Selma, I'm meeting some of the locals to find out
0:08:33 > 0:08:35what the marches mean to them.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39What's your name? Yes. Good to meet you. Good to meet you all.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41- Is my impression good, y'all? ALL:- No!
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Ain't good? - No-one here talks like that.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48OK, so in this little group here, so we're around 10 and 11.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52That's the age that some people were on the actual march itself.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54What would you think about that?
0:08:54 > 0:08:58It would scare me a little bit but if there's a chance that
0:08:58 > 0:09:03I might still be able to get my right to vote, I'm going for it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Even though there was a lot of danger, they were earning
0:09:06 > 0:09:09their rights and they were like, "OK, this is my freedom.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11"This is a part of my freedom and I want it."
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And it was that desire to see change
0:09:14 > 0:09:19that drove the marchers to walk that Sunday morning in 1965,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21despite the risk of violence.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26Yet, as they made their way through Selma, they found it eerily quiet.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Well, that was until they came here, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36which you can see just over there.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38It's on the outskirts of Selma.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42This is the very same bridge on which President Obama
0:09:42 > 0:09:44made his powerful speech,
0:09:44 > 0:09:50a speech inspired by events that unfolded on that Sunday in 1965.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53As the protesters walked to the far side of the bridge,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56they were met by a wall of police.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01It must have been a terrifying sight for anyone but just imagine
0:10:01 > 0:10:04how you would have felt if you were eight years old,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06because that's how old Sheyann Webb was.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11So Sheyann, at this point here, we can see the end of the bridge.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14What would you have seen at this stage?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16This was a devastating picture.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21I can see hundreds of policemen with tear-gas masks,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23state troopers on horses.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27You can see that something was going to happen.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33As the crowds moved forward,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37the police charged their horses and attacked those on the bridge.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39It left over 50 marchers in hospital.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45As I was running, I could see other people running, some falling
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and some even crawling.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52And I'll never forget the late Hosea Williams picking me up,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55as my little feet were still galloping in his arms.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59And I turned to him, very frightened,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and I said to him in my own childish voice,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07"Put me down, because you're not running fast enough."
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Television cameras caught what happened on the bridge.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14It shocked lots of people and made them think
0:11:14 > 0:11:18about how black people were treated in places like Selma.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21One of those watching was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and my hero, Martin Luther King.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Martin Luther King actually wasn't on that very first march but, as
0:11:29 > 0:11:33soon as he found out what happened, he came to Selma straightaway.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38And because he knew how many people thought what happened was wrong,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40he pleaded with them to come and join him.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42And they did.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Inspired by what they'd seen, people joined from all over America.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Although the first march ended on the bridge and the second
0:11:50 > 0:11:55turned back, two weeks later, the crowd gathered for a final time
0:11:55 > 0:11:59and now, led by Martin Luther King, they were legally allowed to march.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And following in their footsteps, I'm leaving Selma
0:12:03 > 0:12:05and covering the first seven miles of the route,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07taking me to Halls Farm,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11where those on the march spent their first night.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It's a real privilege to get to walk on this road
0:12:13 > 0:12:18and although ultimately, it's just a pretty busy stretch of tarmac,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21it's actually a road which has helped change history.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25And thinking about the incredible people that I've met,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and the sacrifice they've made,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30well, who knows what's around the corner?
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Day two on my incredible journey, following a march that
0:12:36 > 0:12:39helped to bring voting rights to millions of black Americans.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Over the next 48 hours, I have to cover a whopping 30 miles,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48and I'm doing it all on foot, so I'd better get going.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53There are a lot of insects around here
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and they REALLY like the taste of my shins!
0:13:00 > 0:13:03This right here - corn field!
0:13:04 > 0:13:05That's real cotton.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08Oh, I'm tired!
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Sweat marks. They look pretty cool, don't they?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14They'll be all the rage back in Britain.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Just like the marchers, I'm heading towards the important
0:13:24 > 0:13:27city of Montgomery, which was the headquarters for local
0:13:27 > 0:13:31government and had a direct link to the President of the time,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Lyndon B Johnson.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36The marchers walked up to 12 hours a day
0:13:36 > 0:13:40but for me in the Alabama heat, it's hard going.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Although I'm hot, I've got really nicely ventilated T-shirt,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47shorts, trainers as well. They didn't have that.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49They just had shoes like you'd wear at school.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51They had a shirt that they were wearing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Not the kind of stuff you'd want to be wearing
0:13:53 > 0:13:57when walking 54 miles and it's just kind of that that makes me
0:13:57 > 0:13:59even more in awe of those incredible people.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02# We shall overcome... #
0:14:02 > 0:14:06One essential thing they needed to keep marching was food.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08They were walking too far to carry their own,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12so volunteers would prepare meals and deliver them along the way.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15# We shall overcome... #
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Louisa Miles was one of those volunteers.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22She's treating me to a classic American breakfast called grits,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26which was served to the marchers, and she still eats it every day.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28- Every day?- Every day. - And you're just 80 years old,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31so the key to long age - eating grits every morning!
0:14:31 > 0:14:34THEY LAUGH
0:14:34 > 0:14:38To make grits, you'll need some ground cornmeal, some water,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40butter and a pinch of salt.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42OK, here goes!
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- That's good.- Grits is good. Good for you, too.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Making grits outside on a small stove
0:14:52 > 0:14:55has stirred a strong memory for Louisa.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58# Swing low
0:14:58 > 0:15:02# Sweet chariot
0:15:02 > 0:15:06# Coming for to carry me home... #
0:15:06 > 0:15:10RECORDING: # Swing low... #
0:15:10 > 0:15:15I'm now 21 miles in and Louisa's singing has really moved me.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Singing was used by the marchers to keep their spirits high
0:15:19 > 0:15:21on this long, gruelling walk
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and I want to find out more, so I'm heading to a march
0:15:24 > 0:15:28memorial garden, to see the powerful effects song can have for myself.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31# Ride on, King Jesus... #
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Oh, Wow!
0:15:32 > 0:15:35# No man can a-hinder Thee... #
0:15:35 > 0:15:36Look at this.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40# Ride on, King Jesus, ride... #
0:15:40 > 0:15:45Canaan Hill Baptist Choir still sing gospel songs and freedom music
0:15:45 > 0:15:48that were popular at the time of the Civil Rights Movement.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50# Ride on, King Jesus. #
0:15:50 > 0:15:52That was absolutely beautiful.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Thank you very much.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57There's a lot of power in that music.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59What does it mean to you?
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Well, music during the civil rights time,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06it was something like to unite them as one and to come together
0:16:06 > 0:16:10and to not think about what they would have to go through
0:16:10 > 0:16:14while they were walking, not to think about being tired or anything.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Some people don't speak up on what they're feeling, what they're
0:16:17 > 0:16:20going through, but whereas the songs and music, you can, so...
0:16:20 > 0:16:24# No man can a-hinder Thee... #
0:16:24 > 0:16:28It's incredible to feel the power of that music for myself
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and I can only imagine how it must have inspired the marchers.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38But as I hit the road the next day, I can't help thinking that
0:16:38 > 0:16:39as well as food and music,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43there was another key ingredient that drove the marchers on.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The main thing that I'm thinking about is the word courage.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Would I have had the courage to do what I'm doing now back then?
0:16:52 > 0:16:55For decades, black Americans had been treated
0:16:55 > 0:16:58as second-class citizens in the Deep South.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02They were separated from white people in many everyday places,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07like sport fields, theatres, and even on buses.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11As well as this, they were often poor and ill educated.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15So they found fighting even for the basic right to vote a huge struggle.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20To bring about change, they had to stand up to the authorities
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and protest.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25So it was courage that helped them
0:17:25 > 0:17:28to march forward for equal rights in their country.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I'm now over halfway on my journey and I'm visiting somewhere
0:17:34 > 0:17:39I can see for myself how that courage has changed life today.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42But first, I've been challenged to a little game.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44These guys here at Southside High School.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I'm talking about football - American football.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'They're going to give me a crash course in how to field
0:17:51 > 0:17:54'a football and, trust me, it's harder than it looks!'
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Set, hut!
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Now I'd like to think I know how to throw a ball,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05but this is totally different.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07HE LAUGHS Hut!
0:18:07 > 0:18:11'There are just so many things to think about. '
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Oh, sorry! I thought he was going to run a bit further, you see.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15That's what that was.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'After a few - quite a few - attempts...'
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- I didn't know what was going on. - Hut!
0:18:25 > 0:18:29'..I think I should leave the American football to these guys!'
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I suppose once upon a time,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34not all of you guys would have been able to be in the same team,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37go to the same school, drink from the same fountain.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Do you ever think about that at all?
0:18:39 > 0:18:43I grew up with a lot of white friends during my childhood.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Even went to play basketball and swim. Maybe even fought -
0:18:47 > 0:18:48play fight with each other,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51so it would be kind of weird not being around people
0:18:51 > 0:18:54who I call my best friends and who may be of the opposite race, though.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56We don't judge people by what colour their skin -
0:18:56 > 0:19:01red, black, white, purple, green. I mean, we're just people.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03A lot of the people who sit on this bench
0:19:03 > 0:19:06are able to sit together because of the sacrifices that our
0:19:06 > 0:19:14forefathers and our ancestors from 60 years, 50 years ago made for us.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15# Yeah, oh... #
0:19:15 > 0:19:19It's incredible how one march, 51 years ago,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21has changed life today.
0:19:21 > 0:19:27But back in 1965, life was far from equal for black Americans.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31And the marchers still had a long way to go to reach Montgomery.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34So I must follow in their footsteps once again.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43'It's my final day of walking and, like the marchers all those
0:19:43 > 0:19:46'years before, I'm getting close to Montgomery.'
0:19:48 > 0:19:52On 25 March, 1965, Martin Luther King and his supporters woke
0:19:52 > 0:19:57and began their final trek into Alabama State Capitol.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02They were tired and weary but driven by a desire for change,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05to make it easier for them to vote.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07# Yeah, to the land... #
0:20:07 > 0:20:09They'd been on the road for four days.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13They faced heavy rain, intimidation, they'd eaten very little
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and they'd been sleeping in makeshift camp sites.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18# I'm on my way... #
0:20:18 > 0:20:21As they walked towards Montgomery,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24the numbers swelled and more and more people joined them.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Hundreds became thousands and then tens of thousands.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Some people estimate that when they began to arrive in Montgomery,
0:20:33 > 0:20:3625,000 people were in that group
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and that's because they sensed that something was about to happen.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Something big.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47I'm now on the final straight and, like the march,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50my numbers swelled too.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52I can see the State Capitol Building.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55How do you think the marchers would have felt 50 years ago,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57finally seeing that incredible building?
0:20:57 > 0:21:00I think they'd feel glad that they could see it.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03They can finally see that their goal has paid off and they're here
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and they're excited.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09I'm nearly there. My long walk is almost over
0:21:09 > 0:21:11but what would it have been like for the marchers?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Can you imagine the celebration?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Thousands of people, jubilant scenes.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27And so the long walk was over.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And right at the bottom of those stairs, right there,
0:21:30 > 0:21:36in front of a crowd of 25,000 people, with the backdrop of
0:21:36 > 0:21:43the Capitol Building, my hero Martin Luther King addressed the crowd.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47He spoke about hope that after all their efforts on the march,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50change would come.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53One of those in the crowd that day was Elton Dean.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Aged 15, he walked out of school to join the march
0:21:56 > 0:22:00and to hear Martin Luther King speak.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03And you saw Martin Luther King himself, my hero.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05You actually saw him speak.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07I saw him. I saw him.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Just to see a man of his stature,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16a black man, sit up and make appeals to the world.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18I mean, that's what he did that day.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22He made appeals. You know, he was just a wonderful man.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27I've never seen anybody since him take that kind of position.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Nobody talks like him.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31They don't think like him.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33I owe him a lot
0:22:33 > 0:22:38and I owe a lot to the people who marched for the right to vote.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Martin Luther King wanted his words to be heard by more than
0:22:41 > 0:22:43the crowd stood in front of him.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47He wanted them to be heard 800 miles away.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51He wanted it to be heard here in Washington DC,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53where the President of the USA
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and the people that pass its laws are based.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59And they did hear.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Five months after the march arrived at Montgomery,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05the President of America, Lyndon B Johnson,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07passed a law called the Voting Rights Act,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10which made it much easier for black people to vote.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17It was a huge moment for those who fought so hard for change,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20like Congressman John Lewis.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22He was one of the leaders of the march.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- It's an absolute honour to meet you. - Good to meet you, sir.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28'And today, he plays a part in passing the laws that affect
0:23:28 > 0:23:29'millions of Americans.'
0:23:29 > 0:23:33What do you think would have happened if, in 1965,
0:23:33 > 0:23:34you hadn't marched?
0:23:34 > 0:23:40If we had not marched, maybe, just maybe, it would have taken
0:23:40 > 0:23:44many more years
0:23:44 > 0:23:48to get a Voting Rights Act passed and signed into law.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52But do you think it's changed the world?
0:23:52 > 0:23:58I think the march from Selma to Montgomery had a major impact
0:23:58 > 0:24:02on not just American community, but the world community.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08How would you like what you and a very select group of people did,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10how would you like that to be remembered?
0:24:10 > 0:24:16I'd just like for people to know that a group of people
0:24:16 > 0:24:18just tried to help out.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23We, at the time, didn't know or realise
0:24:23 > 0:24:27that what we were doing was so significant.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29We was just trying to change things.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32How close to achieving equality do you think we are now?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36We have come a distance. We've come a great distance.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41The signs are gone, but we still have invisible signs.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Whether America or even the world is equal for everyone
0:24:46 > 0:24:48is still very much up for debate
0:24:48 > 0:24:51but some things definitely have still changed.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54In the 51 years since those marchers set foot on the road
0:24:54 > 0:24:58out of Selma, America has gone from a country in which black people
0:24:58 > 0:25:02found it nearly impossible to vote, to having a black President.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Congratulations, Mr President.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08CHEERING
0:25:08 > 0:25:11And the marchers played a huge part in that change.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14When he was sworn in as President,
0:25:14 > 0:25:22he wrote on a little programme, he said, "John, it's because of you."
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The march touched the lives of millions and, as my walk comes
0:25:28 > 0:25:32to an end, it has one last surprise in store for me.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45"To Radzi, I'm very proud of you
0:25:45 > 0:25:47"and glad you're able to go on this journey.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50"I thank you for representing our family on this journey
0:25:50 > 0:25:52"and I'm not able to be with you physically,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54"but I'm with you in spirit.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58"I look forward to seeing you and hearing all your stories." Aw!
0:25:58 > 0:26:01That's really nice. That's from my sister, Rufaro.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04To get a letter like that from my sister,
0:26:04 > 0:26:10here, in a place that essentially helped change the world,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14and give people equality, that's amazing.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22So for the people who say "I want to help the world,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25"I want to improve the world," what could they do?
0:26:25 > 0:26:31In the days, months and years to come, we all, all of us,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35it doesn't matter how young or how old you are,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38we all can be just a little more human.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Just be human.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Never put anyone down
0:26:45 > 0:26:47because of their race, their colour.
0:26:49 > 0:26:50Be kind.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53And never hate.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Love everybody. The way of love is a better way.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05This has been a journey I'll never forget.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09I've met some inspirational people who risked everything to stand up
0:27:09 > 0:27:11against something they thought was wrong.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16What they did didn't take skill, speed or superhuman strength,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18but what it did take was courage.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21More than I could ever imagine.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It was a walk that gave black people in America the freedom to vote.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27It gave them a voice.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29It was a walk that made people think
0:27:29 > 0:27:32about how to treat those around them.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35It was a walk that changed the world.