VOA标准英语2015--非洲裔美国人纪念20世纪60年代争取投票权

African Americans Recall 1960s Fight for Voting Rights 非洲裔美国人纪念20世纪60年代争取投票权

BIRMINGHAM—

U.S. President Barack Obama and thousands of people will gather in the small southern U.S. city of Selma, Alabama, Saturday, March 7 to commemorate¹ the 50th anniversary of a historic voting rights march that became known as “Bloody Sunday."  

Hundreds of African American demonstrators marched for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, 50 years ago.

As they crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge, they were attacked by state police officers.

The violent images outraged² the nation, drawing national attention to the denial of voting rights for millions of African Americans.

“I had to go to the courthouse, stand in line, and vote," said civil rights activist³ Nims Gay.

Fifty years later, Gay returned to the Birmingham courthouse where he and other blacks had questioned white county officials who rejected their constitutional right to vote.

“Why do you think you are superior to me?  Do you not realize from one blood all nations flow?  Or is that something you do not understand?  And that would irritate them.  But I did not worry about irritating anybody.  When you are right, you are right.  When you are wrong, you are wrong," said Gay.

Following legal challenges blacks were allowed to vote.  He says the fight was hard, but worth it.

“A voteless people are a hopeless people.  The same thing goes today.  I do not care if you are black, white, green or gray, if you cannot vote you are messing up," he said.

Retired⁴ teacher Jeanne Smiley was among the first African Americans allowed to vote in Montgomery, Alabama.

“A lot of people around Montgomery and surrounding areas, so many of them were really afraid to go and try to vote.  But those of us that were able to vote, tried to vote and we tried to encourage others to go and vote," said Smiley.

“If you had a job just trying to register to vote was enough to get you fired.  In addition to that they would even fire some of your relatives," said Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders.

Days after “Bloody Sunday”  Hank Sanders joined civil rights leader Martin Luther King and thousands of others in a march to Alabama’s capital, Montgomery.

“The power of the vote seemed so powerful to those who had it .  They did not want anybody else to have it and they were doing everything they could, they were using every mechanism⁵ at their disposal to stop the [black] vote," he said.

"The accomplishments⁶ that we made did not occur by themselves," said Civil rights lawyer Fred Gray.

Gray, who represented King, won a court ruling that allowed people to march from Selma to Montgomery.  

"It is all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy⁷ of bigotry⁸ and injustice," said President Lyndon Johnson.

Gray says less than five months later President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law.  

“The voting rights was a key, because it opened the door for so many other things.  Because if you get people to vote then you can elect individuals to office and these individuals who were elected to office held the power to appoint hundreds of other people to elected office," said Gray.

Back in Birmingham, Nims Gay sings the civil rights anthem⁹ that inspired him and so many others in their struggle.

1 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

6 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

9 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。