with us today and we're going to wrap it up now. thank you very much for watching our special coverage of the 50th anniversary of the march on selma. you're watching msnbc. don't forget to join us tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. eastern for a special presentation of "selma: 50 years later." >> amazing action, unbelievable rescues. a mother and her children trapped inside the twisted wreckage of a car. >> it did go through our minds that this vehicle could possibly go over the edge. >> firefighters who demonstrate courage any time, any place. >> you're basically hanging 80 feet beneath the helicopter which was not the plan i had in my mind. >> when we first got on scene and looked over the edge, and it was like, oh, this is bigger than we thought. >> acts of bravery from everyday

heroes. >> i heard a yell for help and i just immediately started running for the door. >> and nerves of steel in the face of imminent danger. >> we had a really small window to get everyone out of this tunnel or it's going go from rescue to recovery. >> i won't let you go! >> "caught on camera, help is on the way." rescuers race to save a family trapped on the edge. >> i've never seen anything like this in 34 years. january 12, 2012, an afternoon commute becomes a nightmare when a tractor-trailer slams into a car carrying a mother and her two children in

californi california. >> they were pushed into the center of the bridge. at that point the tractor went over and then the trailer and crushed the car as it went over the bridge. >> the 18-wheeler plummets 100 feet and explodes instantly killing truck driver charles allison, jr. but amazingly, kelly gropes and her two daughter, ten-year-old sage and ten week old my lo mil safe inside the car. a firefighter greg knuckles is first on the scene. >> we didn't know we had a tractor-trailer rig on fire and basically went over the car and crushed the car. >> you could tell from the radio traffic just how complex the

rescue was. we jussi jaaskelainen knew it was a kind of different unique call. >> but unique only begins to describe this accident. rescuers are stunned to find more than half of the car dangling over the side of the bridge. news cameras and a firefighter's helmet cam capture the incident as it unfolds. >> approximately 70% of the car was hanging over the edge of the bridge with 30% stuck on the bridge itself. >> the wreckage is only the first shock. all three victims are not only alive but also conscious and looking straight down at a deadly 100-foot fall. >> we have two kids and an adult. >> the whole bottom of the car opened up and she was just hanging by a thread with her seat belt on. she was saying to the firefighters get me out and that

her 10-week-old and her 10-year-old was trapped. >> we could hear her 10-year-old sort of groaning, and so that was a big moment, a real relief to know that she was still alive. i remember saying we need to be strong and that these children need your strength. >> but kelly's strength is fading fast. she's crushed against the driver's side window while at the same time reaching behind to hold up her infant daughter in the car seat. the rescue team gets a harness to kelly but it's little comfort as she stares through the gaping hole beneath her feet. greg knuckle stands by, but feels helpless. >> she wanted a net. greg, can you give me a net? it was just, having to tell her, i can't. i don't have a net. i wish i had a net right now. i wish we had a net, but i can't. and here she's looking down. and that was hard to tell someone. >> we're tying up your car right now to hold it stable, okay? we're going to get you out. you're doing good. >> firefighters stabilize the wreck by tying it down with

ropes and begin to pry the car open. they're hoping to create just enough room to pull the family out, but instead realize they may be causing a bigger problem. >> each time we use the jaws of life to cut the top of the car open, the actual the bottom of the car opened even further. so that was a real concern for us that she could potentially slip through the bottom of the car. >> the biggest moment was when i heard the cutting team saying hey, this vehicle is moving. and that scared me. >> kelly hears the concerns of the rescue team and wants to know what is happening. greg knuckles is faced with the difficult task of keeping her focused on survival. >> you know, this is what's happening. we're stabilized. there's a lot of stuff you can't see, there's a lot of lines on this vehicle. we're doing the best we can. i didn't know if this car could go over the edge and there were moments that i thought, you know, yeah, this could happen. so that was real difficult, trying to maintain my composure,

and not essentially think i'm lying to her, and just try to keep the game face on, so to speak. i think she probably knew that what could have happened and realized she was lucky, too. so it was amazing to see her strength. >> the lives of three people hang in the balance. then news arrives that some would call a coincidence, others a miracle. a convoy of navy seabees had been stuck in traffic from the accident on the opposite side of the highway. >> we brought highway patrol it's like we have a forklift that has the capability to be on this side of the roadway. and reach underneath that car to support it so it won't slip off. >> the seabees are the navy's construction battalion and they're transporting heavy equipment to a nearby military base. and they just happen to have the exact tool needed to help save this family. a forklift. >> they were able to come from the opposite side of the bridge. put their forks underneath the back of the tire of the car and hold it up to stabilize it for

us. it also created a platform for us to get a firefighter over the edge. >> i put the harness on, walked out over the forklift. there was no problem. i didn't think twice. i just went out there and started working. the most important thing was to have the 10-year-old removed. she was the most critical. >> but they must maneuver the forklift without moving the wreck and the victims inside. >> if we try to lift it up, they were afraid the vehicle would twist and crush her worse and put her in a worse position so we put it on there, and you have the rear tires supporting the main structural part of the car that's hanging off the freeway. >> the plan worked. 10-year-old sage is the first to be taken out. and rushed to a waiting helicopter. >> being in the military you try not to let emotions get to you. i think the hardest part when they pulled that 10-year-old girl out, because i have a 6-year-old at home, and actually seeing her come out, kind of hitting close to home. but hearing she was all right made it worth every moment of it. >> 10-week-old milo is freed

with only minor injuries. leaving kelly still trapped in the front seat. >> i remember saying it's time sage is gone, the helicopters have taken her. milo is out. now it's time for you to get out. >> it won't be easy. firefighters have cut through the top of the car creating a small exit. but every inch kelly moves must be carefully choreographed. shards of glass and twisted metal surround her body. >> we sort of had to reach down and kind of manipulate her feet while she's being pulled from the rescuers up top and then we had to sort of be careful lifting her up. but actually, she helped get herself out a lot. it amazed me, her strength. >> the rescue team makes one final pull and after almost two hours, kelly escapes the wreck that held her captive. >> i vividly remember once the mother was extricated watching her get pulled out of the car, and standing on that forklift, and i remember taking one of the deepest breaths i've taken in a long time, and letting it out. >> kelly and 10-year-old sage

are more seriously injured than baby milo but survive their incredible nightmare. rescuers are praised for their tireless efforts, but some who were there believe fate lent a hand as well. >> we were originally delayed because of a vehicle breakdown. we would have been two hours ahead of the accident. i believe everything happens for a reason. we were just in the right place at the right time. >> it was just amazing that it was there. i started to wonder like, okay, maybe angels wear camouflage. i don't really know, because it was bigger than me. bigger than me. >> just looking back on it, we were lucky at times having the seabees show up. it was miraculous they showed up to help us out. >> coming up, a crane operator makes a critical decision 220 feet above a raging inferno. >> there was no way i could go down past that flame. >> when "caught on camera: help is on the way" continues. rowe p, we can help guide your retirement savings.

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a fire out of control, and a man trapped above smoke and flames. the dramatic attempts to rescue him before it's too late are all caught on camera. >> so i just sit there. waited it out and prayed to my creator that that was it. i thought that was my end. >> april 12, 1999. a fire breaks out at a construction site in atlanta georgia. at first, the blaze does not appear to be a threat to crane operator iver sims. so he make a decision to stay put, 220 feet above the ground. >> the smoke started coming out of the top of the building and i sit there because i thought maybe i would be able to help the guys, assist them to find out where the smoke was coming from. >> sims communicates what he can see to his supervisor down

below. but the fire quickly goes from bad to worse. >> so this is probably one of the largest fires atlanta has seen in 25 years. it actually started generating its own wind which is close to firestorm conditions. >> construction crews on the ground have safely evacuated the building. but sims can only look down helplessly upon a sea of flames. his only means of escape is cut off. >> most of the crane is built with steps and how you get up and down every day. the crane was sitting close to the building and there was no way i could go down past the flames and get down those steps. >> and time is not on sims' side. the fire advances closer and closer to the crane. and the question becomes, how much longer can it take the punishing heat? >> there was direct flame contact between the steel at the

bottom of the crane and it weakens the steal. if it weakens enough it's going to fall over and you're not going to survive that fall. >> sims decides to ride the fire out in the cab of the crane, but the rising temperatures turn it into a broiling often. i thought i was sweating and i realized the heat was getting to me. i got out of the cab and i walked on the deck of the crane. the cab of the crane where i was sitting, just a few minutes, it blew up and busted into flames. >> sims paces along the crane looking for any escape from the flames. he takes refuge on the counterweight at the end of the crane's arm. >> the reason i went back on the counterweight, because those blocks are made out of solid concrete. i realized that that was the only thing to absorb that heat. i just sit back there. i didn't feel any heat. >> trapped on the edge, 220 feet above the ground, all sims can do is wait. >> after i lost contact with everybody on the ground, i didn't know whether i was going to get down or not.

i thought that was my end. i just sit there and pray. which is nice to have time to ask god forgiveness before -- ask him to forgive you for anything that you have done to anybody else. >> but first responders aren't about to give up. helicopters attempt to approach the top of the crane. >> we're going to make a couple of passes just to see what we can do with it. >> the heat and 40-mile-an-hour wind prove to be difficult to overcome. >> we tried to hover up to it but it's hot. we didn't get that close to it. >> firefighters brainstorm ways to reach sims, but many ideas are impractical under these conditions. >> we had ideas of trying to throw a line to him or shoot a line to him. there was an idea of somebody crawling up the inside of one of the smoke stacks next to the crane. and then the idea -- so who's going to be able to jump that far? >> rescue workers decide another

airborne attempt is the only way to reach the top of the crane. the plan calls for firefighter matt moseley to dangle 80 feet beneath a helicopter, through the heat and smoke, then be lowered onto the burning hot crane and attach himself to ivers. >> i can remember just seconds after being lifted, this calm came over me. you were done hearing opinions, done hearing all the ideas, it's time to go to work. there was nothing else you could really do. >> moseley's calm doesn't last for long. the pilot fights to keep the helicopter steady against the powerful winds and updrafts from the massive fire. but it's moseley who must endure and protect himself from the extreme heat. >> i was getting nervous because it was getting very hot. my ears were starting to burn. i tried to tuck my head down into my collar because it was getting a lot hotter than i expected. >> fighting the wind, the chopper pilot maneuvers moseley directly onto the arm of the

crane. and no one has any idea how close the 220 foot crane is to the point of collapse. >> i got on the crane, and made my way over to ivers, i can remember i could hear pop. that pop was the metal deck, the steel popping from the heat. because the control cabin already burned up. so we didn't want to dilly daly. tried humor with him. boss said okay go ahead and knock off early. he wasn't really paying attention to what i had to say. probably wasn't in the mood for a comedian. >> i introduced myself, he told me what to do with the sling he had, you know, i think it was something like a three-point hitch or something like that. we had to loop it up. and that was it. >> moseley knows every second counts and races to get the harness on sims. he gives the thumbs up. after nearly two hours on top of the crane, ivers sims is flown to safety. >> probably the biggest relief for the whole rescue was when the system actually tensed up and we were able to get it lifted off the crane and everything was hooked up. it was a good feeling.

it was a good feeling knowing you're going to safety. it was a good feeling. >> we enjoyed the ride on the way down and i'll always remember they teach you in school to try and calm people. try to talk to them. i was talking but i don't think he was listening to me because he was the calmest person up there. >> sims and mosley are brought down in a nearby field where medical teams immediately rush to assist them. >> it was a good feeling to hit the ground. i would have kissed the ground but i didn't have time. they grabbed me up and threw me on one of the stretchers and hauled me off to the hospital. >> the flames are extinguished soon after sims' rescue and the crane remains standing in spite of the intense heat and flames. >> the guys that took it down did tell us it was three or four feet out of spec. so it had started to lean. >> both men emerged from the ordeal without any physical injuries, but their moment in the spotlight has only just begun. the dramatic rescue is broadcast live around the country, and instantly turns matt, ivers and

the helicopter crew into national celebrities. >> almost want to say that when we got on the ground, it got tougher because that's when the media showed up. and i mean it was a swarm. and then the mayor comes up, hands you his phone and says vice president gore is on the line. he was watching from washington i guess and called to congratulate us. so you know nothing like the vice president of the united states calling to add to your nervousness. >> the media celebrates a happy ending to an incredible rescue. and ivers sims is changed forever. >> that day, you know, everybody just stepped in and did their part, and everything went, like i said, flawless. from that day on, i have a different perspective to what life and people. coming up, an afternoon hike becomes a struggle between life and death for a teenager and his dog. >> we have to get to them because we have no idea how long they're going to last.

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a teenager is left hanging on for dear life when he tries to save his dog from a potentially deadly fall. >> he was just so physically tired that he probably wasn't going to last much longer on that hillside. >> december 29th, 2011. ivan solace and his father are walking ivan's dog lola in lopez canyon, california, when the canine chases a bottle thrown over the side of the hill. >> the dog went down there got stuck, wasn't able to come back up and ivan wanted to go and try to get him. >> but ivan's impulse to rescue his four-legged friend takes a frightening turn. >> the slope becomes too steep and ivan slides uncontrollably down the face of the cliff. he grabs onto a rock to stop his free-fall and gets close to his dog. news helicopters capture ivan's struggle. he can't climb back up or continue down.

>> the cliff was approximately 200, 250-foot cliff side and he was approximately 75 to 100 feet down right in that area, in a steeper section of the cliff. >> los angeles firefighters oscar and robert are part of the team called in to help save ivan and his dog from a nearly 200-foot fall. helicopters make the first attempt. a rescuer is lowered down a safety line and tries to attach harnesses to both ivan and the dog. >> the reason why we decided or the department decided to go with the helicopter first, i guess that's how our procedure works, our protocol. we figured that would be the easiest way, the safest way. to rescue ivan. >> but the wind and noise generated by the chopper causes lola to panic. and ivan scrambles to cover her with his body. >> during their attempt, the roteo wash was so great that it was blowing rocks and debris across ivan and the dog, which actually made the situation worse. >> it turned out it could have been a dangerous operation so we

backed out on that and we went to plan "b," which was for the members, the firefighters, to go down and rescue ivan. >> firefighter oscar is the first to reach ivan. the 19-year-old has been hanging onto the cliff for more than an hour and is close to letting go. >> once i got to ivan, he was tired. he was extremely exhausted, tired, he was thirsty. i was just trying to comfort him, make sure everything was going to be okay, he was going to be safe. i tried to get his mind off of that, scared. >> cespedes secures ivan to a harness with no problems and decides to take him down the hill. but the firefighters agree it is safer to take lola another way. >> the dog wasn't going to leave ivan's side. so the route that they were going to take ivan down the dog would have got hurt trying to follow. so we made the decision to secure the dog first, get the dog out of the equation, and then keep the dog safe, and

prevent the dog from hurting itself. once i had the dog in my arms, it didn't move. it actually tucked itself even closer, and it could have crawled inside, it probably would have, that's how scared the dog was. >> mcginnis takes slow steps across the face of the cliff and hands lola off to a waiting firefighter. cespedes attaches himself to ivan and they begin their descent down the steep slope. but they encounter problems as soon as they begin. the rope line gets snagged. cespedes must tug on the line which in turn sends debris straight down on them. >> the hard part is getting him down, all the loose dirt and all the loose rocks just hitting us. i was talking to him, just keep your head down because there's a lot of loose dirt and loose rocks. certain points i had to look up just to make sure what kind of debris was going to fall on us. >> cespedes also struggles with the loose ground which disintegrates right under his feet. >> that mountain was very steep, loose dirt, rock, very

uncomfortable. so that kind of always is a hindrance of trying to do a rescue like this. you think you're placing your foot or hand on something that is stable or secure and that's not the case. >> the two safely reach the bottom of the hill and ivan is reunited with lola and his family. but admits he was worried the outcome could have been much different. >> he told me that if we weren't there we would have been able to hold on for about 20 more minutes. >> rescues can be a part of a difficult day for an l.a. firefighter but ivan and lola are two that won't soon be forgotten. >> i hadn't really been on a rescue like this before so it was special to me. just kind of go to work and do what we need to do. >> no one was hurt, nobody was injured. the victim and the dog in this case were both saved. and that's the gratification

right there. just knowing that we were able to make a difference out there. coming up, a group of friends up against a rising tide. >> my entire body, including my neck was under the water. >> when "caught on camera, help is on the way" continues. a, we e gap will close when healthcare changes. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when healthcare becomes simpler. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care.

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>> president obama spoke a short time ago in selma, alabama, marking the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday when civil rights activists were beaten by police as they tried to march to month comrie. the president says america's racial history still casts its long shadow but cited progress made in the past half century. congressman john lewis a leader of the movement had his skull fractured on that day.

a kayaking trip becomes a nightmare. forcing four people to fight for their lives against the rising tide. >> we had a really small window to get everyone out of this tunnel or it's going to go from a rescue to a recovery. >> september 2nd, 2007. dennis riley along with his wife sue thompson and their friend claudia darrow are sightseeing along the ware river in hull, massachusetts. >> we decided to take kayaks up the estuary as the tide was going up -- coming in, get there at high tide, and just kind of leisurely go back out with the tide. >> claudia puts down her paddle and starts taking pictures. but as she looks through her lens, she doesn't realize her kayak is slowly drifting toward a drainage tunnel called a culvert. >> just, you know, a baby's bath. and then all of a sudden i was slammed up against the bridge

and being sucked down underneath into the culvert. >> so we made a bee line for her as fast as we could. but it was immediately obvious that we were in a very bad situation. our kayak started to tip and i'm all of a sudden out of the kayak in the water. >> bystanders witness the accident and call 911. as dennis tries to hold onto both claudia and suelina. but the powerful current sweeps his wife into the culvert. a local resident captures the terrifying ordeal on camera. claudia is already pulled out of the tunnel, but dennis is still inside trying to reach his wife. >> and then, like from heaven, the ladder came down right in front of me. and i reached out and i thought, well, i better get out of here and let the firefighters do their job. so i pulled, grabbed on to the ladder and i pulled myself through the opening.

>> the deputy fire chief chris russo is waiting on the ladder and helps lift dennis up to the rescue team on the bridge. >> when i finally got a hold of dennis he was wedged between his kayak, the ladder and the edge of the culvert. thank god he wasn't a giant guy and i could actually lift him up and get him on the ladder and move him to safety. >> i got him. under the arms. under his arms. >> i was pretty exhausted. i knew that there wasn't much more that i could do, but i was also, at that point, had been prepared to if somebody threw me a rope, i would have gone back in the tide to suelina. >> dennis and claudia are safe. suelina is still trapped inside the tunnel but she's not alone. >> i'm going to send you a rope and a life jacket. >> a rope and a life jacket. >> jake king is the first firefighter to arrive at the bridge after the 911 call before the camera starts to record.

he hears the desperate cries for help and decides he can't wait for more firefighters to come. >> so i jumped in the water and i was sucked into the culvert. but i did get inside. >> suelina relies on her yoga training to remain calm but realizes she may not survive. >> at a certain point i guess kind of an unconscious prayer. just said, you know, if you have to take me, i'll go. so i was kind of really ready when literally at about that time, you know, this person comes up from the water. and grabs a hold of me, and he says, i'm firefighter jake king. hold on tight, or we're both going to die. it was like, you know, he woke me up from a kind of reverie

where i was starting to kind of fade. and he said, okay. this is extremely dangerous, but, you know, i'm going to find a way out. >> jay communicates with chris russo while inside the tunnel and they come up with a plan to pull them out against the raging torrent. >> how long you got? i need 35 feet. i'm coming for you. don't worry. >> the water was coming in very fast. at that point the water inside the culvert was swirling around like a whirlpool and we could see the tide rising. and you know, we had very, very little space. i'm going to say anywhere from 8 to 12 inches to the top of the >> you got that? this is your line. tie it to your jacket.

tie the knot right in there. untie that knot. pull that out of the jacket. it's a loop knot. i want you out of here jay. >> jay and suelina wrap themselves in the rope and prepare to escape from the dark confines of the tunnel. >> let's do it right once. >> but fear overwhelms suelina when she learns she must make the journey to the opening alone. >> everything happens very quickly and jay says i cannot come with you. i can't. they can't pull both of us out. >> there's a high level of anxiety there. we have a victim not responding to us verbally. she didn't want to move. she was afraid she was going to die. she was in a very dark place. >> you've got to talk to me. please, stop talking. you're going to come to me, all right? i won't let you go. >> and chris is screaming, stop listening to him. listen to me! and it's like i couldn't change my allegiance. i was like so bonded to jay who's been holding on to me under the water.

>> suelina overcomes her fear and lets go of jay. russo gets help from a man on a small boat to pull suelina out. her head is barely above the rushing water. gasping for air with every ounce of strength she can find. >> i'm just exhausted. i've been down there so long and i can't, my head is going under the water. and, i'm still thinking i'm going to drown and chris is on the ladder and it was like he was, just like pouring his life force into me and i could raise my arm and he could grab hold of my arm. >> after 45 terrifying minutes, suelina is pulled to safety, but jay king is still trapped in the tunnel. >> i knew as a rescuer, rescuers are always last. but like anything, i just want to get out. >> on this line, this side of the ladder. >> you've got to move this line

underneath the ladder. >> i'll get you out of this. >> we're getting to the end of this here. we're getting close. we're running out of time. and the last thing i want to do, after being successful three other times is leave a firefighter trapped in a culvert at the end of the day. >> russo realizes the boat can provide extra strength to pull jay out of the tunnel. precious seconds tick away as rescuers attempt to maneuver the boat into position. >> be right there. >> the boat pulls jay to the opening of the tunnel but he still must squeeze past the ladder blocking the exit. he makes his way around as the pressure from the river threatens to push him back in. >> a little more. >> we're going to pull you. >> with one final burst of speed, the boat moves forward, and jay king escapes. >> we got him.

>> you know, it was a deep breath. there's a sigh of relief there. my first thought was, am i 100% sure we have everyone? and when that was verified with everyone else who was on scene, it was good to see everyone's faces. dennis, claudia and suelina suffer minor injuries but the psychological trauma is harder to leave behind. >> i mean, i'm still processing it. i'll be processing it for the rest of my life. >> the bridge has been rebuilt and the culvert opening grated up. signs are posted in the river to protect kayakers from getting too close. but if they do, firefighters and first responders will be there. >> i think give or take two or three minutes they were going to drown. without a question of doubt if we didn't take the actions we did.

>> public service i used to think is politicians. it really changed my view of how necessary these jobs are. and how the people that do them are amazing. jay jumped in there not knowing whether he would survive. and that's a different kind of job. >> coming up, an afternoon of terror on the side of an apartment building. you're watching msnbc and we are looking at live pictures from sale ma, alabama, at the edmund pettus bridge as you can see where the first family, president obama president barack obama and his family, along with others that you see there, are gathering to walk across the bridge today. today is the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday.

600 marchers went across this bridge to demand better rights as voters and were beaten by lawmakers in the process. today is the 50th anniversary of that day. one of the people who organized that march 50 years ago, now congressman john lewis, is there today. his skull was fractured by police as he was marching across that bridge 50 years ago today. also president george w. bush, his wife laura are in the crowd along with the entire first family. president obama about an hour ago gave about a 45 minute speech from the foot of the edmund pettus bridge. it was a passionate speech. i'm hoping we can hear a little of that again here soon but i don't know how many people are in this crowd today but it looks like hundreds and also members of ferguson, missouri were there today as well interrupting the crowd at time during the president's speech demanding

better treatment by the police where they live. so we are, again, watching the first family along with an incredibly large crowd marching across the edmund pettus bridge in sul selma, alabama, on the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. let's take a listen if we can. as we said, president obama and the family as you see are crossing the braj cross ing the bridge as we speak. about 45 minutes ago the president wrapped up his speech in selma, alabama, at the foot of the bridge you see here on this historic anniversary of bloody sunday, again, 50 years ago today when 600 marchers crossed this bridge and were beaten by law enforcement officers. nbc's tremendous main lee is there right now.

what's happening with viewers? >> reporter: right now president obama and other of the original foot soldiers and dignitaries are at the edmund pettus bridge. they got to precipice and looked down at the other side. now, talking to folks who had been there that terrible day is once they got to the top they could see police officers on horse back and the pos tsemen and they saw them gathering strength for this conflict. so a moment ago we saw someone who was such a critical part of that original campaign. she was just leaving the bridge, she's older now and she's in a wheelchair and they wheeled her off, but you can see, from where i'm sitting right now you can see them still sitting there, the president is taking photos of the original foot soldiers but where they are standing

right now is hallowed ground right now. >> take us through the events of the day leading up top this moment. >> so this morning the event really began at brown chapel. it's an ame church about a mile from the edmund pettus bridge. it's where organizers the likes of dr. king and malcolm x the week before he was killed met at brown chapel, met with young activists organized like john lewis, members of the non-violent coordinating committee to strategize and plot and plan out what would be the voting rights campaign. so this morning the congressional delegation arrived at brown chapel and they met inside. they met with the daughter of a woman killed around the time of bloody sunday and she talks about what it meant for her family to be involved and she said when people ask her why her mother came to selma to help

support the fight for voting rights she said why wasn't everyone here? she shouldn't have been the only one. so when i talked to congressional members they said it was so touching that this woman, this is a commemoration of the signing of the voting rights act and the commemoration of bloody sunday but also the 50th anner have of her mother's murder by klansmen. so for her to speak up asking them to heed the call, to come down here and fight the fight. so from there the delegations over to the edmund pettus bridge area where they were greeted by thousands of people, not just from selma, not just from the state but all across the country and you could feel a balance of mourning so many losses, so many bloody encounters that turned terribly violent with the fact

that there were real victories won here after bloody sunday and the march between selma and montgomery, london johnson gave the speech where he said we shall overcome and finally signed the voting rights act in 1965 which clearly came the fabric of american life and so that's where we are today a number of speakers including the governor of this state, the mayor of selma, the president, john lewis who the president calls his hero. they spoke and now we're at the point where most folks have been gathering and have pretty much left. it's pretty thin now. so now president obama with dignitaries and original foot soldiers. >> and among those is president george w. bush. we understand that he was holding hands with congressman lewis on this very emotional day. take us through reactions you heard while you were among the crowd today. >> i think one thing that struck

me is everywhere i turned i would be bumping into and talking to someone who took part in the original march so while there are many people here gathered to commemorate the anniversary, there are people who marched and shed blood on that day. but following the president's speech folks were excited because all of those battles culminated for them with this president being here in this place that won equal voting rights for americans. now there were a number of folks, especially a contingent from ferguson, missouri, a group of young people, maybe a dozen or so at least who, while the president was speaking, they were saying "ferguson is here, we need change" something to that effect. while the president actually referenced it in his speech and he nodded to them saying this is kind of necessary, a lot of people around them felt

disrespected. not only disrespecting the president of the united states, the first black president of the united states but also the people who fought so hard for their right to vote. now in speaking with some of those protesters, it's not meant to take away anything from the president or the people who were freedom fighters and pushed those but there needs to be real change in america and that ferguson is everywhere and i think leaning on the doj report last week where you see the breadth and depth in which the local system was weighing on black folks and poor black people for revenue for undue stops, for undue arrests. that's their point. they're saying look closer at this so by and large the crowd were excited to hear from president obama many others felt that this is just a start, clearly. >> tell us how the crowd reacted. i'm curious about something that i heard you say earlier during our coverage. how did the crowd react to those

members of ferguson, missouri in the crowd today when they were talking during the president's speech. how did the crowd react to them? >> i couldn't see when it was actually getting -- apparently it got chippy with people around them. they weren't taking kindly to that. i'm not saying there were fisticuffs or that it got overly physical but when i spoke to the members from ferguson who walked over toward that's where i was, many of them were visibly upset. i saw one young man who i recognized from ferguson, he had tears in his eyes because they were looked at -- i think one of the young ladies said that -- i forgot what she said exactly but that people were saying they were disrespectful and they were saying things that they felt demeaned by and they were emotional. they said we're here to commemorate so much but we're here to keep the fight alive and keep the fight up. especially those of us who are dealing with it every single day, they said. so it was -- but it speaks to the clear dynamics, not unlike

the dynamics we saw in the early days between the younger more radical activists and dr. king and others from selma. so we saw firsthand and we continue to see it. remember during -- there was the march on washington a couple months wrago where a group from ferguson took to the microphone and demanded a look at what's happening in ferguson and an end to the killing of unarmed black men by police. so they traveled. they're getting themselves into these situations but they're doing so in a manner which rubs some the wrong way but they're pushing harder and the president has referenced this is part and parcel of what it means to be an american, the opportunity to express your views. >> as we were seeing earlier during the president's passionate speech about 45 minutes to an hour ago we heard the crowd cheering throughout. what parts do you think the

crowd most respond to? >> i think all of it the cheering began on the jumbotron when they saw the president and first lady's daughters, sasha and malia. it's not just about the first black president but also the first black family. i think touching on the idea that not only should we commemorate those who shed so much blood fighting for the rights for all americans, but finding a way to transition and a build bridge from 50 years ago to today. there wasn't much in the speech that i don't think the crowd didn't like. i think they loved it all. these are folks i was around. they see president obama as the culmination of that campaign because without that campaign, without the voting rights act you would haven't president obama in the white house today. >> one other point the president made was this was the beginning of change, not just in america but around the world it gave

people courage in other parts of the world who were suffering and being oe proeszed to just stand up for their rights and be willing to go to jail for the cause. one of the president's points as well is that we still have a long way to go. and earlier in the crowd when i saw you talking with people about that subject people had different ideas in mind of where we need to go next. could you share some of those? >> first and foremost i think a lot of people in the crowd recognize that despite voting rights then and voting rights now across the country, most of the republican legislation across the country are passing bills and legislation that make it more difficult for people to vote, make it more difficult for the elderly to vote, making it more difficult for young people, minorities to vote. so that's a clear connection thing that first and foremost we need to fight for voting rights. congressman coombs out of delaware, i talked to him when he was coming out of brown chapel and he had a copy of a

proposed amendment to the voting rights act which is being gutted by the supreme court so that's a clear platform for this next fight. but there's still so many social issues. access to health care is still a big deal. so so many fights still left to fight. but this emboldened them. especially when you look at the crowd and stand next to people who really laid it down on the ground not just from anything short of putting their lives on the line, people are walking away emboldened by that. >> trymaine, one of the faces in the crowd today, one of the people the crowd was most excited to see, of course, is congressman john lewis. can you take us back 50 years ago today? his involvement. what happened and what he's become since?

>> what's amazing is he is he was a young man in his early 20s standing side by side with goliaths of the movement today. even dr. martin luther king was still relatively young at the time was -- emerged that has huge figure. and when you look at the footage of bloody sunday and see the still pictures of the group of a couple hundred protesters at the base of the bridge standing face to face with state troopers, you see john lewis's face. there's one terrifying photo of a trooper bringing down a club on john lewis's head. he was nearly killed that day so for this he's a folk hero not just in the movement and selma but across the country for so many people and not just a man like john lewis who everyone knows and loves and applauds for his efforts. there were so many people whose names we simply don't know. or you don't know outside of this community.

and there are moments where there's a gentleman named reverend f.d. reese who actually wrote the original letter inviting dr. martin luther king to selma to join in their fight for voting rights. i saw him coming and the crowd kind of parted to let him through. now many people outside of selma do not know who f.d. reese is but to see this crowd respond with the level of respect that they did adds to the level of amazement to stand back. >> take us to sell marx alabama, as we're watching this live pictures of people crossing the edmund pettus bridge. smell, alabama 50 years ago, selma, alabama, today. what's different? >> when you look at the city leadership from the mayor, the police chief, the majority of the people on the city council, those faces are now black. they're african-americans in those positions. but what hasn't changed is this community's black community,

which is the majority community, is still suppressed in certain ways, economically there's the high unemployment rate, families are being torn apart by drugs so there's so so there's so much progress here. if you wanted to sit next to a white man and have a cheeseburger, you can do that. but if you want to sit next to a white student, that's more difficult. after segregation, a lot of white families fled the community and started segregation academies. that still lingers today and so all those terrible memories, there's this long shadow so when you walk around downtown it reminds you of something you see in a movie. it could be mayberry if not for what happened here so many years

ago. but there are many abandoned home homes. >> we just saw the presidential motorcade cross the bridge. we know president obama has been on the bridge shaking hands with the crowd there that's what's going on tomorrow. what's going on tomorrow as well? >> tomorrow is the more established traditional jubilee celebration where they will commemorate the march by reenacting the march. so while it's a process of things that continue to go on, it's a commemoration. there are a number of different concerts going on. i believe one of the networks is having a concert and there are other local community groups having musical celebrations. >> trymaine lee, we are looking forward to seeing that and you out there tomorrow. thank you for your great work, we are watching live coverage of the crowd in selma, alabama,

crossing the edmund pettus bridge. president and the first family are walking across the bridge. the motorcade went by as they are there to pick up the president on the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. you're watching msnbc. >> watch out! >> sometimes the best laid plans can go awry. leading to the worst kind of day possible. it's a picture-perfect afternoon for skydiving but in jumper ends up hanging on for dear life. >> there's nothing nobody can do to save him. >> at a kentucky gas station, a routine fill-up flares up. >> it happened so fast. everybody was in so much shock. >> further south, a tow job in texas turns