the all too familiar, all too human predicament that gets put on public display in politics. we do not do what we want, yet we are responsible for what we are. what a movie. anyway, that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. this is the dexter avenue king memorial baptist church in montgomery, alabama. from here, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. preached during the civil rights movement. this church is hollowed ground. welcome to a special edition of "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. and we're honored to broadcast from this church. dr. king became pastor here in 1954. from this church, he led the montgomery bus boycott, reshaping the course of history and igniting a movement that changed the world. today, after 54 miles of

marching, we reached montgomery. many of us spoke at a rally on the steps of the state capital. the same steps where king stood 47 years ago at the end of his epic march from selma to montgomery. fighting for voting rights and immigrant rights. tonight, we'll have an exclusive interview with dr. king's oldest son about his father's legacy. and the fight to protect the gains of the civil rights movement. we'll also be talking politics. new job numbers. president obama is moving the economy in the right direction, even though republicans can't admit it. plus, southern fried willard. romney suddenly discovers his southern roots on a swing through dixie. now willard says he even likes grits. that's great. but we start tonight with the country still working on the

dream. right behind me is the pulpit where dr. martin luther king first preached his message of hope and brotherhood. and 47 years later, we've come a long way, but there's still a lot of work to be done. when it comes to moving forward together. hardly a day goes by when president obama isn't personally attacked from the right. the latest twisted, depraved assault comes from sarah palin. >> it's based on what went into his thinking, being surrounded by radicals. he is bringing us back, sean, to days that you can harken back to days before the civil war when, unfortunately, too many americans mistakenly believed that not all men were created equal. what barack obama seems to want to do is go back to before those days when we were in different classes based on income, based on color of skin. >> based on color of skin?

what is she trying to say? she thinks president obama wants to return to the days of slavery? that's just crazy. she's worked up because of this video that surfaced this week from president obama's time as a law student. it shows him embracing a black professor she says is radical because he fought for diversity on campus. and yet, silence from republicans. nobody is stepping up to denounce this talk. it is just one more brick in the ugly wall of republican extremi extremism. this week a bush-appointed federal judge in montana was caught sending a racist e-mail about president obama. many called on him to resign, including me. but he found support from three republican lawmakers in his state who said he shouldn't step down. just last week, arizona sheriff

joe arpaio brought back the birther issue claiming the president was not born here. it's the same sheriff every republican candidate asks for an endorsement. and on the campaign trail, the republican candidates routinely used coded language about the president. >> i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. >> president obama is the best food stamp president in american history. >> it's destructive and divisive. and it's been going on since before the president even took office. and it hasn't stopped since. >> our opponent is someone who sees america as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists. >> he had a very strong association with bill ayers. it always into question what barack obama's true beliefs and values and thoughts are. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie!

>> if you are going to be the president of the united states, you have to be born in this country. >> president obama, quit lying. >> this is not the kind of talk dr. king preached from this pulpit behind me. this was the party of lincoln. what happened? it's ugly talk, ugly language. and it has to stop. i talked about that today at the rally here in montgomery. we are not each other's enemies. we are not each other's competition. we are not each other's adversary. if we lock arms like we did coming down highway 80 and cooperate rather than compete, we can make america work for everybody. >> joining me now is melissa harris-perry, host of msnbc's melissa harris-perry and chris hayes, host of "up with chris hayes" here on msnbc. thank you both for being here tonight.

>> absolutely. >> melissa, let me start with you. how did we get to this point of ugliness and divisiveness again in this country? >> well, i think the sort two of different things going on. one is a question about partisan divisiveness. and if you ask how we got here, the answer is one of the people currently running for president. so if we look at newt gingrich and sort of how this language of partisan division really begin to take hold in washington, in the early 1990s. i think it's both a good and bad part of the story is althoh race is the main strategy being used as the criticism of president obama, i actually don't think that racism is the reason that republicans are criticizing the president. so let me say that again real quickly. the way they went after, for example, president bill clinton, going as far as actually impeaching the president is an indication that -- and remember, bill clinton is, in ft, a

white guy, right? is an indication that what was happening is a deep, profound partisan divide. but in the case of this president, what they are able to go after, the thing that they are using, the kind of wedge they are hoping to use is racial stereotyping, racial bigotry and racial discourse. it's the different in the motivation and the strategy they are using. >> well, chris, i don't know that i disagree. clearly i think it's a strategy, i think also some of it they have some deep-seeded feelings. but they are certainly using racial store stereotypes and racism as a way of trying to appeal to cosome extreme voters. let me show you. you know we ended this march today in montgomery. listen to what rush limbaugh said today about our march and used it to pivot an attack on president obama. listen to this. >> they are doing a celebration today of the selma march.

and when they did this in 2008, four years ago, during the democrat campaign, both candidates were there. hillary and obama. and obama who had nothing to do with selma, probably couldn't find it on a map for the first 25 years of his life, talked about how what happened there made him who he is. and there was still talk in the "l.a. times" there was still talk in the left wing media, well, obama is not really authintic. he doesn't have slave blood. they said, not me. they said it. all this talk about authenticity. >> first of all, chris, it is so ridiculous. dr. king started pastoring here in '54. i wasn't born until '54. many of us were not in selma. we weren't old enough or born but it is an historic fact what happened in selma got people the right to vote which led to president obama getting enough votes to win for president and

others to run for office. why go with this racial authenticity? it's always bringing race in the mix, chris. >> what strikes me is how impotent and feckless the attacks are and how ineffective they've been. it's one thing to say you have a fig whour is relatively new to the national political party in 20 2007, 2008 who would be the first african-american president, who does have a distinct story that is perhaps not relatable to large percentages of the population. and yet he was elected anyway. it's bizarre, downright bizarre to me to choose to attack the president of the united states who has a record, who people know what he's done and hasn't done in the year 2012 for his re-elect based on a hug he gave to a law professor in the 1980s or, you know, or to revisit the controversies -- supposed controversies about black

authenticity when he ran the first time in 2008. what it speaks to me is they are trying to change the top nick a pretty impotent fashion which is the record stands on its own and there was a time when they seemed anxious to run against that record. they wanted to talk about the affordable care act and wanted to talk about the economy. and now they don't seem to want to talk about any of that. >> but i guess, melissa, the reason it disturbs me is i'm all -- i'm sitting in a church that preached unity. and that stood for justice, clearly stood against what was wrong, but wanted the world to unite on those principles. we had a march today that every color of the rainbow was represented. and yet in the backdrop of that, hate groups on the rise. i was at southern poverty law center last night. hate groups are up 69% since 2008 when president obama was elected. militia groups, militia anti-government patriot groups up 755%.

this language, this divisiveness, this ugliness, whether it's a strategy or whether it's the way they feel is awakening cukes that are dangerous and that are divisive. and i think that's why we've got to address it. >> you know, i love, first of all, that chris hayes just said impotent twice to talk about rush limbaugh twice and the republican party. >> you caught that, did you? >> yeah, i did. part of why i feel it important to use this language. i was watching earlier as you were giving the speech, reverend al, and i was watching all of you marching down before the moments of the speech. and the thing that was catching my eye was the police cars. and the police cars there in front of the marchers helping to clear the way. and, of course, that's critically important because we know where southern police were 47 years ago. they were not clearing the way. we know that we are in a new country now. this is exactly chris' point. you can have whatever emotions

you have about so-called slave blood or authenticity or whether or not the late, great derek bell is a radical. but the fact is the american people already made that choice. that is done. we have moved -- we have crossed the bridge at selma. we already decided so many of these decisions that what you see now is this kind of grasping, this desire to move back to a time where we will not go back. and not just because we can kind of wave our hand and say it's all taken care of, but because the struggle continues. the marches continue. the work that you are doing continues. the fact is of the 2016 republican party that is going to emerge after this likely loss to barack obama in 2012 is going to be a much more racial party, a party that's not going to be able to play this kind of southern strategy. so actually, i think in certain ways, yes, it's a revival of it, but it feels like the kind of death gasp revival of it. >> chris, as we look at this

ugliness, i think the good news, the thing that encourages many of us is that it is not working. yes, there are certain groups that are rising up, but they are in the minority. i think most american people have moved on and began to understand that the fight for fairness and equality which is not over, but is clearly the right side of history and where they want to be as american people. >> yeah, i mean, that's exactly right. particularly, i think of it issy in context and framework of the national political culture. the national political culture as it pertains to the re-election of the first african-american president. i think the place it's most disturbing is exactly in the place where you are today which is at the state level, particularly in a state like arizona or alabama in which state legislature have very different political climates dhoot seem to be following the worst kind of demagogic politics particularly around race in targeting both african-americans at the polls and immigrants in the sort of full panoply of

their lives. that's where i think we're seeing the ugly rhetoric getting channeled into actual conditions that constrain the possibility of people's lives. and that's the place where i think the fight is most vital. >> melissa and chris, thanks for joining me tonight. to both of you. and catch "up with chris hayes." catch chris on it on weekends from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and then "melissa harris-perry" from 10:00 to 12:00 noon. ahead, first willard romney said the trees in michigan were the right height. now he loves grits. >> i'm learning to say y'all and i like grits and the things are strange things are happening to me. >> you are correct, mr. romney. something weird is happening. president obama and jobs. another big boost today, but

republicans are flat out denying the facts. it's actually getting funny. and we are broadcasting tonight at the church where dr. king pastored and began his quest for civil rights. my exclusive interview with his son, his oldest son martin luther king iii from inside the church his father preached in. >> let's have the same i.d. we had when we elected george bush jr. for president. but you'll not get to the re-election of barack obama and now we need a different i.d.? we're going to play the game by one set of rules. ♪ [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business...

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three straight months of better than expected jobs growth, but republicans are unable to say the words the economy is improving. tonight, call me professor rev. i'm taking them to school with labor secretary hilda solis, next. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. welcome back to "politics nation" live from in front of the pulpit at the church where reverend dr. martin luther king preached in montgomery, alabama. president obama was on the road today promoting the latest good news on the economy.

227,000 jobs created just last month. >> the economy is getting stronger. and when i come to places like this and i see the work that's being done, it gives me confidence there are better days ahead. the key now, our job now is to keep this economic engine churning. >> that economic engine has produced 24 straight months of private sector job growth. adding 3.9 million jobs. our favorite chart shows the difference between the bush and obama administrations. a clear trend of jobs growth for the current president. but mostepublicans don't want to give president obama credit for this. some don't even want to talk about it. >> governor, any comment on the new jobs numbers this morning? >> good to see you. thank you. hi there. how are you doing? good to see you guys. hi. >> anything on the new jobs

report? >> hey, guys. how are you? good to see you. >> governor romney, any thoughts on the new jobs report today? >> maybe willard only wants to talk about jobs in a quiet room. rnc chairman reince priebus even says, quote, the situation is clearly not improving. not improving? are you kidding me? maybe mr. priebus doesn't really know what improving means. i have a dictionary here. let me see if i can help him out. improving, to enhance in value or quality. make better. that sure sounds like what we're seeing with this economy. joining me now is hilda solis, u.s. secretary of labor. she was marching with us here in alabama to focus on voting and immigration rights. madam secretary, thanks for your involvement this week. and for being here tonight.

>> thank you, reverend. good to see you. >> now let me begin by asking you, do you think we need to mail dictionaries to our favorite republicans so they know what a recovery looks like? >> you know, reverend, what i would tell you, as i've told other people today is that figures don't lie. the numbers don't lie. we've created well over 3.9 million private sector jobs in 24 months and this job report in addition to last month's shows some very good strong figures. but we still have to keep our eye on the ball and continue to make investments to get the congress to work with this president to help the american public create better jobs. that's why he was out in virginia today talking about manufacturing, investments, creating 16 hubs for manufacturing. so we could bring back those jobs here to our great country instead of outsourcing jobs. that's why you heard silence from mitt romney because what can you say? the numbers don't lie. >> now mitt romney, though, has been saying the opposite of

that. i mean, it's very confusing when you look at the numbers and you do hear things from mitt romney. listen to this, secretary solis. >> i don't think the president understands the power of america's economy and what makes it work. it's critical that the person we nominate is someone who understands the economy. i understand the economy. we need to have a president who understands the economy. to make sure this country has people who understand how the economy works. people hurting under the stagnant obama economy. >> now not only have you given the figures on job creation every month, look at the stock market. it's up 100% after hitting historic bottom three years ago today. up 6482 points since march 9th of 2009. a 100% increase. he doesn't understand the economy? this is outrageous.

>> reverend, i agree. and, you know, people need to just remember that when the president took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs every month. and as soon as we got in and things started to change and we started to focus on the recovery, we started to see more confidence building. and now we're reaping those benefits because people are confident. they are consuming. they are demanding products. and we see there's nor entrepreneurship. entrepreneurs and manufacturers want to hire up new people but they also want them to be better trained. that's why the president is talking about major investments in education and training. and also, pushing forward on the transportation bill that's going to provide thousands and thousands of jobs and construction where we still need to see more recovery. so we keep our eye on the ball, keep focused and make sure the public understands the difference between what mitt romney is saying and what the facts are. and the facts are clear. under the bush administration, on a monthly basis, there were only 11,000 jobs created per month.

now you put that up next to and compare it to what we've done in the last three years. there is no comparison, reverend. >> now, and i think the american people are getting it. look at the polls. the poll on president obama's handling of the economy. 48% of those polled approve of his handling. up 9% since just december. and more people are saying the economy is starting to recover. 54% say yes, it's starting to recover. that's up 26 points since september. so the american people seem to feel the president knows how to handle the economy and that we're moving toward a recovery. >> reverend, all i can tell you is that again, numbers don't lie. you see record numbers in growth in the health care arena. also we're seeing an uptick in manufacturing. but more importantly in areas like professional business development, we're seeing good job growth. and these are full-time jobs. they're not just all temporary

jobs. i've been asked that throughout the day. and i can tell you that even if they are temporary jobs, they lead, too, full time jobs. we're pushing that out. thank goodness we were able to get the ui extension and payroll extension. there's a demand. people are going to buy products. what we want to do is make items here in america and sell themto other people abroad and bring those jobs back home here in the usa. >> well, we're going to have to let it go there, but thanks so much for being with us, secretary of labor, hilda solis. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. ahead -- look out. a panda bear has been spotted in the south. he also answers to the name willard. wait until you hear what he's saying about his love for one southern food. and our exclusive interview with dr. king's oldest son in the church where his father preached. he'll talk about the fear that his family knew all too well

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what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. we're back in montgomery, alabama, where today our fight for voting rights led us right to the steps of the state capitol. martin luther king jr. spoke on those same steps about the struggle for voting rights back

in 1965. today his son spoke to the crowd. using the same words his father made famous half a century ago. >> how long? not long. because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. how long? not long. >> because no lie can live forever. how long? not long. because truth ever on the capitol roam forever on the throne. how long? not long because god almighty is still on the throne. >> we still have a long way to go. but we won't give up this fight. martin luther king iii joins us coming up. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

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welcome back to "politics nation." live tonight from alabama. we are here in the church where dr. king preached throughout the civil rights movement. these days, alabama is the center of the republican universe. the presidential candidates have been campaigning here and in mississippi all day ahead of tuesday's big primaries. and i'm a little concerned a bit. it seems that the heat down south might be getting to willard. >> it is now turning me into an unofficial southerner. i'm learning to say y'all and i like grits and the things are -- strange things are happening to me. the governor said i had to say it right. morning y'all. i got started right this morning with a biscuit and some cheesy grits. >> oh, that's cheesy all right. maybe willard needs to rest in the shade for a while. joining me now is steve

kornacki, political columnist for salon.com and erin mcpike, national political reporter for real clear politics. thank you both for being here tonight. >> sure. >> let me ask you first, erin, let me go to you. is talking about cheesy grits willard's version of a southern strategy? >> well, you've got to give the guy credit for trying, right? he's getting out of his comfort zone. he said that being in the south is kind of like an away game for him. but it's funny. who doesn't like cheese grits. i certainly do. but i have actually seen mitt romney take the skin off of his fried chicken and the cheese off his pizza before so he's getting out of his comfort zone and at least trying. but that's mitt romney's way. he tries to identify with people and get out of his comfort zone and do what they do. so he's trying. you got to give him credit for that. >> his camp is e-mailing volunteers who worked on super

tuesday races, begging them to come to volunteer in alabama. they sent out e-mails saying, quote, we are within one point here in alabama. win in alabama, will end this process. sounds like they aren't generating enough volunteers in alabama and mississippi. >> yeah, i'm not surprised to hear that because the heart of the republican party in alabama and mississippi is composed of the cultural demographic groups most hostile to romney. in 2008, 77% of the republican primary electorate in alabama, evangelical christians. the num gher mississippi, 69%. those are two of the highest numbers you saw in that entire process. we've seen white southern evangelicals have been very resistant to romney throughout this entire process. he's certainly struggling there, although i will say this. they are writing that e-mail about the opportunity there. if mitt romney can win what he calls an away game in this process, that's what we've been

waiting for. when he finally wins an away game, proves he can do that. that will ratchet up the pressure on santorum and gingrich to end this thing. you have newt gingrich kind of going gung ho there. and rick santorum. and they're both going for those same voters. same romney resistant evangelicals. if there's no clear distinction between gingrich and santorum, there's an opportunity there for romney to win. >>. >> now that is the concern i have, erin because in the south it would seem to me that because of -- if romney is the nominee, the weakness he has with evangelicals it seems to me that he's not energizing the base. some would go with whoever the nominee is but they're not energized. is it a political strategy by some to do things like voter i.d. that would cut off some of the voters that president obama was able to get to come out in huge numbers in 2008?

i clearly think that whether it was president obama or anybody else running, we'd be out here fighting these i.d. laws. but from a political strategy, is that not part of the calculus or possibly part of theic calcus here? >> that might be, but let me add something to what steve was saying which is that the romney campaign seems to be focusing more on alabama because, as you know well, alabama has more city centers in it than mississippi does. and that is a way for mitt romney to turn up the vote and maybe beat gingrich and santorum in alabama in order to have a southern win down there. and that e-mail, while maybe it does speak to the fact they can't get very many volunteers in alabama itself, it does show that they think they might be able to win in alabama and yes, that would maybe end this process. >>. >> steve, when you look at

romney saying today grits and he's learning how to say y'all, how do you compare that to president obama and his style? i mean, let's just fast forward, if in fact romney is the nominee. how do you play a guy who peels the skin off his fried chicken, takes the cheese off his pizza but comes down and says i'm learning how to say y'all and like cheesy grits. or the guy who seems naturally able to relate. how is that going to play on the evening news in september, october when they may be the candidates facing each other? >> yeah, well, right now this isn't the first time something like this has happened with mitt romney. we can give you a whole litany of examples where he's looked at a target voter group and thought, how am i going to appeal to them. it's been awkward and painful. when he talked about how he's a hunter of vermins and small rodents. that was an attempt to win over the second amendment crowd a few years ago. obam alet's remember in 2008, he did have his own moment with

awkwardness. he went to the bowling alley in pennsylvania and tried to do that whole thing. didn't quite seem natural there. but i don't think they ever -- his campaign kind of learned from that. they kind of stopped forcing those moments. this keeps happening with romney and he keeps reinforcing the worst impression of him. one of his biggest vulnerabilities potentially in the general election. and that is this is a guy that doesn't seem to know or be comfortable with who he is and looks at the electorate and says what do i have to do to win over "x" and i'm going to do it. it looks awkward and unnatural. the more it happens, the more that impression gets created. >> steve kornacki and erin mcpike, thank y'all for your time tonight. >> sure. >> thank you, too. lots more ahead. here on this special edition of "politics nation" live from the dexter avenue king baptist memorial church in montgomery, alabama. we'll have our exclusive interview with martin luther king iii talking about our effort to protect and expand his

father's legacy. does any mother ever feel like their kids are adults? i have twins, 21 years old. each kid has their own path. they grow up, and they're out having their life. i really started to talk to them about the things that are important that they have to take ownership over. my name's colleen stiles, and my kids and i did our wills on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

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montgomery, alabama, where dr. martin luther king jr. preached and organized the historic montgomery bus boycott in 1954 after rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus. earlier today, i had the honor to talk to dr. king's eldest son, martin luther king iii about his father's legacy. we had a great day. you were on last friday telling people to come out to the march and the five days of marching. and i guess they heard you because by the thousands, we just ended the march earlier this afternoon. but let me take you back. you were born in montgomery while your father was pastoring in this very church. >> that is correct. actually, from the site that we left this morning, at st. jude's, the hospital. >> and i don't think that people that marched with us today for voting rights, against voting suppression and immigration understands with this march

having 47 years ago, how dangerous it was for your father and his team. in fact, the house that you were born in in montgomery had been bombed during the montgomery boycott. give us a sense of the danger you came to understand as you got older that your family lived in when they were nehere in montgomery. >> thankfully america has changed in many ways but we have many yet. any time people would call our home, i remember i was about 2 years old when we moved. but people would make threats on a daily basis. i remember my mother sharing those things. to have the resilience to sustain all of that and you may remember that when the home was bombed, there were folks who came in with guns and they were really ready to use those guns. and dad had to quell them to

say, nonviolence is still the way, in spite of the fact that my family could have been lost, but fortunately it was just a small hole in the home. so dad had the capacity and tenacity to constantly use and reinforce nonviolence. but in '65, which would have been ten years later, when the march took place, we remember and know that jose williams on the first day, bloody sunday, and john lewis, were beaten. john lewis, i believe, had a concussion and was in the hospital for about 10 or 12 days. the fact is, even after that first demonstration, now these were policemen from selma and state troopers who were beating the marchers. when the federal folks came in, you know, that day, most of those folks would have been -- there would be very few african-americans and they were doing their job because military people do those jobs. but they may or may not have liked any of what the marchers were doing. so anything could have happened.

but today, now we can walk down the highways peacefully. but the reality is, there is a problem because americans' right to vote is being suppressed. and that is what we are marching for. and i applaud you for calling all of us together, quite frankly. >> now we're marching today. how do you see the issues of today that still requires these kinds of demonstrations and shows of outrage that we showed today and the last five days. >> number one, this continues to raise the issue. and as you and obviously have stated, we've got to be in the courts. we've got to be at the state legislature. we've got to be tweeting. we've got to be using facebook. every modern technology that exists has to be used because if elected officials don't understand the consequences of what they are voting for, which is not really to create the opportunity to vote but to suppress votes. that is why it is so important. and when we think about what's

happening as it relates to immigration, i'm really saddened about this state where i was born, quite frankly, that they are -- there are these repressive immigration laws being voted on and a similar law in my state of georgia. fortunately, i think the state courts will address it to some degree. but the legislatures have gone too far. but that is because they are not hearing from the people. when the people stand up and be counted, changes occur. >> now as far as we can see, there's been a tremendous change at one level in montgomery and throughout the south. and then at other levels we're still fighting immigration laws that are unfair. and we are fighting poverty. we're fighting the issues of voter suppression. many ways your father had a lot more vision and his team and his contemporaries probably understood because in this last effort he really was trying to get all the people together in a

poor people's campaign saying it was about chicanos and the mexicans and blacks and latinos and women and poor and working class whites. and in many ways, those are the issues that are on the table today that he told us we had to deal with. when i look at delores hurtaugh who was here from the united farm workers who worked with your father and others who have really raised many of those in the movement and all of us to this point, really, i'm amazed at how far your father had vision and far he could see. and we're dealing with the effects of what was not done after his passing. >> no question. he was talking about in 1968, he was talking about a living wage. we have unfortunately the minimum wage is not where it needs to be in most communities. and he was talking about creating a wage for all people.

the other thing he was thinking about was the radical redistribution of wealth. so you have occupy that is talking about the 1% that's controlling more and more. and that has to change, not that people shouldn't be able to make money that they need to make, but the reality is we've got to find a better way to ensure that more people can participate. >> i remember maybe 20, 25 years ago, i came to this church with you for a rally with jose williams. and i was amazed that this small church that shook the world. and we're here trying to continue your father's work and trying to continue the work of your mother who i think people must always remember her and because of you, i got know her very well. today and this week meant a lot, but it meant even more to walk with you and do it. martin luther king iii, thank you for you and your family. >> thank you for your leadership, reverend.

it's been an inspirational week in alabama marching from selma to montgomery. we're back with final thoughts next.

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for six days, we've marched for voting and immigration rights. take a look. >> are you all ready to march? >> fire it up!

>> fire it up! >> we keep marching for justice for voting rights, for civil rights, for immigration reform and for a new democracy in our country. ♪ this little light of mine i'm going to let it shine ♪ >> we come here to be renewed. we come here to be inspired. >> a voteless people is a hopeless people. >> sending a message to all the copycats that want to follow in the footsteps of alabama. >> this is a day to fight against the worst immigration laws in the country. >> it separates families. when one person is discriminated against, we are all discriminated against. >> in really is a tremendous sense of solidarity here. you have black and white and brown. people from across the country marching 10, 12 miles every day.

>> i'm here to protest the blatant attack on working person of today. ♪ >> the moral arc of the universe is known but bends toward justice. >> we didn't come to commemorate what happened 47 years ago. we came to continue what happened 47 years ago. if we lock arms like we did coming out of highway 80 and cooperate rather than compete, we can make america work for everybody. it's time to stand up again. it's time to hold up again. forward ever, forward ever, backward never. thank you. god bless you.

as we end this week of protests and marching, of continuation and celebration, two thoughts i leave to go and follow up as we fight for voter rights and fight for immigration rights. one was personal. when i came to first do the show monday night, i was at the archives of alabama. my daughter dominique was with me. the men that run that department showed me a family tree. my mother's family and mother comes from alabama, though i was born in brooklyn. he showed me how in the 1800s my great, great grandfather was registered to vote two years after the emancipation proclamation and the carters, my mother's maiden name, voted all the way to the 1890s. because of segregation and because of state's rights, nobody voted again until the

middle of the 1960s. that gap in my family's voting history represents the gaps of states standing against the rights of voters. i'm determined that that gap will never come in my family again. i also leave thinking about how 47 years ago martin's father, martin luther king and reverend joseph lowry and dick gregory and others marched here. they marched against great danger. they marched where they didn't know whether they'd be beaten or even killed. and some were. goodman, cheney and swerna. we marched today. we marched this week with state troopers protecting us. we marched with an african-american as president. with a catholic white male as vice president. with a woman as secretary of state. it shows we can win. it shows america can do better. we don't