The idea of equality promoted by the Bloody Sunday march—and the 50-year anniversary celebration earlier this month—is important to people far beyond Selma.

Many Chilton County residents took part in the festivities, including hearing President Barack Obama’s speech at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and taking part in the annual march that recreates Bloody Sunday.

Evangelist Robert Binion led a group of local residents to Selma and said the occasion was a historic one.

“It was a crowd that nobody expected,” Binion said.

Binion said about 20 vehicles and more than 50 people were in a convoy that was escorted to Selma by Clanton Police. The Chilton County NAACP and Flint Hill Baptist Church were among the groups represented.

Binion said one sign of the progress made toward equality was obvious.

“The same folks that ran us like rabbits the first time were the ones who protected us this time,” Binion said about law enforcement.

The question is, Binion said, “Where do we go from here?”

“We shouldn’t have to rely on the federal government to make us do right,” he said and added that someone must carry the torch passed from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so that future generations can be ensured of their rights.

Binion and others took part in the 50-mile march to Montgomery.