On Saturday night, Tommy and I had a cosy wee night in with the fire blazing while the snow fell all around. It was beautiful when the snow first began to lie on the ground, and light up the trees and hedges. What inspired us most, however, was not the fresh snow but the film Selma which we watched with a mixture of joy and anger. Anger at the story of brutal bigotry and ignorant racism that it portrayed but joy at the thousands of ordinary folk of all races, but particularly blacks, who defied the intimidation, violent assaults and unfair laws to eventually secure their constitutional, democratic and human right to vote.

The film sets out to tell the story, alongside regular and real FBI surveillance logs of the activities of the civil rights movement which took place at the time, of the incredible Selma to Montgomery ‘Freedom March’ which set out to break down the existing barriers to black voter registration which were enforced by the racist sheriffs and public officials elected by the all-white electorates across the Southern state of Alabama.

It portrays the real life contribution of Martin Luther King Jnr in organising and leading the campaign to confront the racism and bigotry which combined with unfair laws to prevent the black population from registering to vote. It takes place in 1965 months after Martin Luther King had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to combatting racial segregation in America’s Southern states through non-violent protests, an award he was presented with in October 1964.

This film should be shown to Primary 7 and/or 1st year students as an example of how history is made and shaped. Despite the brutality of police officers and state troopers the civil rights protestors insisted on marching from the predominantly black area of Selma, where only 2% of the black population were allowed to register to vote, to the Alabama state capital court house in Montgomery. To do so they had to walk across 54 miles of highway often blocked by the police and state troopers and face barrages of violent assaults. Over 3,000 protesters were arrested and several were killed and hundreds hospitalised until the series of failed attempts culminated in a 25,000 strong trek for freedom on March 25, 1965.

The US President at the time was Lyndon B Johnson. He had been elected on a wave of sympathy mixed with revulsion at the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963. He prevaricated in late 1964 and early 1965 over the issue of black voter registration but his hand was forced as disgust grew across America and the world at the shocking and brutal treatment being meted out to the civil rights marchers in Selma in early 1965. In the weeks following the Selma to Montgomery Freedom March he introduced the Voting Rights Act and the politics of America was changed fundamentally.

King continued to campaign against racism, segregation and housing discrimination and poverty bad sadly he too was assassinated in 1968 at the tender age of 39. US history is littered with the stories of ordinary men and women who did extraordinary things to challenge racism, bigotry and segregation. Selma was a timely reminder that history is not made or shaped by the privileged and pampered few like kings and queens but by ordinary folk who display courage and ingenuity and incredible determination in the face of adversity to challenge bad laws and change society.

The brutal and racist Governor George Wallace is portrayed in the film. So is the cruel and callous Sheriff Jim Clark who so brutally tried to enforce the status quo. He died back in 2007 and his legacy is one of hate. There are no nationwide memorials to him or George Wallace but yesterday was Martin Luther King Day in America. A Public Holiday in honour of a man and all his civil rights followers who actually shaped history for the good. If you get the chance watch Selma. Be inspired.

Glasgow Times:

My positive introduction to social media 

Regular readers of my column will know my views on social media. I generally dislike it and fear it is fast replacing the time honoured tradition of conversation. People appear to hardly talk to each other anymore as they are on Facebook, Twitter, txting or using other communication apps. However I confess I did write my first message, or ‘post’ I believe it is called, on Tommy’s Facebook page on Sunday past. You can read it here           

It was about me being Tommy’s election campaign manager in Glasgow in May and how much I was going to put into it alongside an appeal for support. I also warned that should he fail to secure the 6 out of every 100 votes he needs from Glaswegians to be re-elected to the Parliament I will be insisting he steps back from politics for good. I’m frankly fed up with people always wanting and expecting his help but not always being there for him when he needs theirs. Some will be glad to see the back of him. Others will realise he is a loss to Scottish politics.

Either way my first dip into the social media pool was interesting. In the space of only a few hours the responses flooded in thick and fast. Some were abusive and ignorant. Emanating from people with warped views of reality and so silly that they actually believe what the gutter press writes about Tommy. But the unpleasant posts were absolutely swamped by over a thousand likes and positive messages that frankly made me cry with emotion. Many political commentators have written Tommy off but I think they could be in for a shock in May as it is clear he still has loads of support all across Glasgow. Let the battle commence.