Obama, on the 50th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'

On March 7th, 2015, President Obama spoke at a ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the events of “Bloody Sunday,” when over 600 non-violent protesters were attacked by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights.
68 words 1379 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. veteran
    an experienced person who has given long service
    Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked.
  2. tactics
    a plan for attaining a particular goal
    Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked.
  3. anticipation
    the act of predicting, as by reasoning about the future
    The air was thick with doubt, anticipation, and fear.
  4. verse
    a line of metrical text
    They comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung:
    No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
    Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.
  5. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    They comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung:
    No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
    Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.
  6. destiny
    a course of events that will inevitably happen in the future
    President Bush and Mrs. Bush, Governor Bentley, Members of Congress, Mayor Evans, Reverend Strong, friends and fellow Americans:
    There are places, and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided.
  7. symbolize
    express indirectly by an image, form, or model
    Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character – Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral.
  8. turbulent
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
    In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
  9. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
    In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
  10. yoke
    an oppressive power
    In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
  11. segregation
    a social system that provides different facilities for minority groups
    In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
  12. tyranny
    dominance through threat of punishment and violence
    In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
  13. inclusive
    encompassing much or everything
    Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. King, and so many more, the idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America – that idea ultimately triumphed.
  14. ultimately
    as the end result of a succession or process
    Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. King, and so many more, the idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America – that idea ultimately triumphed.
  15. triumph
    a successful ending of a struggle or contest
    Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. King, and so many more, the idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America – that idea ultimately triumphed.
  16. isolation
    the act of setting something apart from others
    As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation.
  17. endure
    undergo or be subjected to
    We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching toward justice.
  18. tribulation
    an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
    They did as Scripture instructed: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
  19. anthem
    a song of devotion or loyalty
    When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came – black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope.
  20. quip
    make jokes or witty remarks
    A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing.
  21. brutal
    resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
    They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years of brutal violence, and countless daily indignities – but they didn’t seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost a century before.
  22. indignity
    an affront to one's self-esteem
    They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years of brutal violence, and countless daily indignities – but they didn’t seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost a century before.
  23. reverberate
    have a long or continuing effect
    What they did here will reverberate through the ages.
  24. commemorate
    call to remembrance
    As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them.
  25. condemn
    express strong disapproval of
    As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them.
  26. degenerate
    a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable
    Back then, they were called Communists, half-breeds, outside agitators, sexual and moral degenerates, and worse – everything but the name their parents gave them.
  27. patriotism
    love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it
    Their patriotism was challenged.
  28. vindicate
    show to be right by providing justification or proof
    What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people – the unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many – coming together to shape their country’s course?
  29. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people – the unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many – coming together to shape their country’s course?
  30. outlier
    a person or thing that does not conform to a norm
    That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience.
  31. static
    not in physical motion
    That’s why it’s not a museum or static monument to behold from a distance.
  32. manifestation
    an indication of the existence of some person or thing
    It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents:
    “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.”
  33. creed
    any system of principles or beliefs
    It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents:
    “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.”
  34. capacity
    capability to perform or produce
    They are a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny.
  35. instinct
    inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to stimuli
    The American instinct that led these young men and women to pick up the torch and cross this bridge is the same instinct that moved patriots to choose revolution over tyranny.
  36. immigrant
    a person who comes to a country in order to settle there
    It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot and workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon.
  37. status quo
    the existing state of affairs
    It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot and workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon.
  38. banish
    expel, as if by official decree
    Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid.
  39. scourge
    something causing misery or death
    Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid.
  40. apartheid
    a social policy of racial segregation
    Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid.
  41. barrier
    any condition that makes it difficult to make progress
    Political, economic, and social barriers came down, and the change these men and women wrought is visible here today in the presence of African-Americans who run boardrooms, who sit on the bench, who serve in elected office from small towns to big cities; from the Congressional Black Caucus to the Oval Office.
  42. endeavor
    attempt by employing effort
    Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.
  43. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    What a solemn debt we owe.
  44. cynicism
    a pessimistic feeling of distrust
    Selma teaches us, too, that action requires that we shed our cynicism.
  45. complacency
    the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself
    For when it comes to the pursuit of justice, we can afford neither complacency nor despair.
  46. evoke
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    It evoked the kind of abuse and disregard for citizens that spawned the Civil Rights Movement.
  47. spawn
    call forth
    It evoked the kind of abuse and disregard for citizens that spawned the Civil Rights Movement.
  48. bias
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America.
  49. discrimination
    unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
    We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America.
  50. immutable
    not subject or susceptible to change or variation
    We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America.
  51. inherent
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
    We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America.
  52. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    And if we make such effort, no matter how hard it may seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred, and consensus can be built.
  53. mutual
    common to or shared by two or more parties
    Together, we can raise the level of mutual trust that policing is built on – the idea that police officers are members of the communities they risk their lives to protect, and citizens in Ferguson and New York and Cleveland just want the same thing young people here marched for – the protection of the law.
  54. poverty
    the state of having little or no money and possessions
    With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity.
  55. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    We can make sure every person willing to work has the dignity of a job, and a fair wage, and a real voice, and sturdier rungs on that ladder into the middle class.
  56. culmination
    a final climactic stage
    Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor.
  57. partisan
    devoted to a cause or political group
    Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor.
  58. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor.
  59. endowed
    provided or supplied or equipped with
    We broke the old aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.
  60. unalienable
    incapable of being repudiated or transferred to another
    We broke the old aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.
  61. stampede
    a wild headlong rush of frightened animals
    We are Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea – pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, entrepreneurs and hucksters.
  62. entrepreneur
    someone who organizes a business venture
    We are Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea – pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, entrepreneurs and hucksters.
  63. liberate
    grant freedom to; free from confinement
    We’re the fresh-faced GIs who fought to liberate a continent, and we’re the Tuskeegee Airmen, Navajo code-talkers, and Japanese-Americans who fought for this country even as their own liberty had been denied.
  64. continent
    one of the large landmasses of the earth
    We’re the fresh-faced GIs who fought to liberate a continent, and we’re the Tuskeegee Airmen, Navajo code-talkers, and Japanese-Americans who fought for this country even as their own liberty had been denied.
  65. hypocrisy
    pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not have
    We are storytellers, writers, poets, and artists who abhor unfairness, and despise hypocrisy, and give voice to the voiceless, and tell truths that need to be told.
  66. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    Not stock photos or airbrushed history or feeble attempts to define some of us as more American as others.
  67. boisterous
    violently agitated and turbulent
    We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit.
  68. diverse
    many and different
    We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit.
Created on Sun Mar 08 17:43:45 EDT 2015 (updated Sun Mar 08 17:53:03 EDT 2015)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.