Civil rights activist speaks at Tuskegee History Center

TUSKEGEE, AL (WSFA) - From the Selma to Montgomery March to the Freedom Rides, Bernard Lafayette did his part to further the civil rights movement.

Most days, Bernard Lafayette is an exhibit at Tuskegee's History Center, but on Wednesday he was a guest speaker, sharing his feelings on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March.

"There is something that's called renewal and I feel a spirit of renewal," Lafayette said. "That somehow we can go back to where we came from and we can gather the strength and the spirit. By walking across that bridge, we recapture that spirit."

Lafayette hopes that spirit will turn this weekend's commemoration into continuation of the march for a new generation.

"Like jailing our young people. Why are we expanding the prison population?" Lafayette said. "We should be working on expanding the college enrollment."

Lafayette says the most important thing he took away from Selma 50 years ago is that even one person can change the impossible into the possible.

"The important thing here is that we can do what seems to be the impossible if we try and we have confidence and we have faith," Lafayette said.

Lafayette plans to be in Selma this weekend for the festivities.

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