One of the most iconic places and pivotal moments in the fight for civil rights is the backdrop for Jon Ossoff’s newest campaign ad called, “Selma.”
Ossoff, the Democratic nominee facing Republican incumbent David Perdue in one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoff races, walks part of the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a focus on social justice themes and reminds voters of his connection with the late civil rights Congressman, John Lewis.
“Daring to demand the right to vote for Black Americans in Selma, Alabama 55 years ago, John Lewis was nearly killed as he and hundreds marched across this bridge,” Ossoff says as black and white video plays from that very day, which went down in history as “Bloody Sunday.”
Equal justice, racial profiling and police brutality are causes the 33-year-old Ossoff focuses on as part of his campaign for a new Civil Rights Act.
The ad ends with video of a passionate Congressman Lewis and one of his most famous quotes, “Too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.”
During his campaign, Ossoff often talks about how Lewis inspired him. After reading the civil rights leader’s memoir when he was 16, Ossoff then reached out to Lewis, asked if he could work with him and interned for the congressman.
With less than 3 weeks before the crucial January 5th runoff vote, Ossoff is pushing out, on average, two new ads each week.
By Karen Araiza
Karen Araiza’s award-winning work as a journalist includes a National Emmy for work on struggles facing law enforcement and a National Murrow Award for documentary and storytelling on the opioid crisis.”
View the ad in its entirety on the next page.
