Mayor Darrio Melton of Selma, Alabama Endorses Joe Biden for President

Today, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Mayor Darrio Melton of Selma, Alabama released the following statement endorsing Joe Biden for the President of the United States:

“Vice President Joe Biden is the leader that we need to beat Donald Trump and bring our country back together again. Joe understands the issues families in Selma and communities across the country face. As president, I know that he will work to put them first again. Joe embodies the character, experience, and knowledge we need back in the White House. He is uniquely qualified to unite our country in this moment, and I look forward to the day we can call him our president. Today, I am proud to endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States.”

Mayor Melton’s endorsement highlights the growing enthusiasm and support that Joe is generating in both the African American community and within Alabama — a critical Super Tuesday and historically red state. It also builds upon the previous endorsements Biden has earned in Alabama, including Senator Doug Jones, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Talladega Mayor Timothy Ragland, State Rep. Juandalyn Givan, and Jefferson County Commissioners Lashunda Scales and Shelia Tyson.

African American voters know Joe Biden and are familiar with his record of concrete progressive action that includes calling out and tackling systemic racism by playing a key role in securing the extension of the Voting Rights Act, introducing the Justice Integrity Act to fight inequality in the criminal justice system, authoring and successfully securing the passage of the Second Chance Act to provide funding to states and non-profit prisoner reentry programs and much more. When Biden was the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, then-Senator Biden led the opposition to Jeff Sessions’ nomination to become a U.S. district judge because of Session’s history of racially insensitive comments — resulting in the Judiciary Committee ultimately rejecting the nomination.

Biden for President has previously announced more than 1,400 endorsements from national, state, and local leaders, including current and former U.S. senators and representatives, governors, state elected officials, community leaders, and national security professionals.