"I'm here because somebody marched for our freedom," Obama, who would become the first black president, said from the Brown Chapel AME Church, where the march began on March 7, 1965. "I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants."
Not to be outdone in the quest for black voters' support, Hillary Clinton also spoke in Selma at a church three blocks away and brought a special lure -- her husband.
Three days before the anniversary of the march, her campaign announced that the former president, who is popular among blacks, would accompany her for his induction into Selma's Voting Rights Hall of Fame.
Senator Clinton said the Voting Rights Act and the Selma march made possible her presidential campaign, as well as those of Obama and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who would be the first Hispanic to occupy the Oval Office.
"After all the hard work getting rid of literacy tests and poll taxes, we've got to stay awake because we've got a march to continue," Clinton said in a speech interrupted numerous times by applause and shouts of approval. "How can we rest while poverty and inequality continue to rise?"
Clinton and Obama appeared outside Brown Chapel for a premarch rally, but came from opposite sides of the podium and did not interact. Despite the intense rivalry between their campaigns, the two praised each other.
"It's excellent that we have a candidate like Barack Obama who embodies what all of you fought for here 42 years ago," Clinton said. Obama said Clinton is "doing an excellent job for this country, and we're going to be marching arm in arm."
But they did not join arms when the commemorative march, attended by thousands, got underway. Instead, Clinton held hands with her husband and Obama was several people down the line. Obama, who shed his coat and tie for the march, approached Hillary Clinton at one point and the two chatted for a few seconds before moving back to opposite sides of the street.
