Fifty years after marchers were beaten and bloodied on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma held a commemoration of Bloody Sunday that those in attendance will never forget.

Congressman John Lewis, who helped lead the march in 1965, stood at the foot of the same bridge Saturday and introduced President Barack Obama, who delivered a speech honoring those who stood so valiantly 50 years ago.

“We gather here to celebrate them,” Obama said. “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.”

With an estimated 40,000 people looking on, Obama said that a single commemoration to honor those, such as voting rights leaders Lewis, Amelia Boynton Robinson and Hosea Williams, would never be enough.

“What a solemn debt we owe. Which leads us to ask, just how might we repay that debt?” Obama asked. “First and foremost, we have to recognize that one day’s commemoration, no matter how special, is not enough. If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done – the American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation.”

The march in 1965 led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. Parts of that act have since been repealed, but civil rights activists want the act restored in its entirety.

“The Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, the result of Republican and Democratic effort. President Reagan signed its renewal when he was in office. President Bush signed its renewal when he was in office,” Obama said, while moving a hand towards George W. Bush, who was sitting to his right. “One hundred members of Congress have come here today to honor people who were willing to die for the right it protects. If we want to honor this day, let these hundred go back to Washington, and gather four hundred more, and together, pledge to make it their mission to restore the law this year.”

After finishing his speech, Obama and his family took a moment to walk over the historic bridge, down the same path the Foot Soldiers marched half a century ago.

“We were beaten, tear gassed and some of us were bloodied right here on this bridge,” Lewis said. “But we never became bitter or hostile. We kept believing that the truth we stood for would have the final say.”

Weeks later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers all the way to Montgomery.

“Selma changed America. Selma changed the world,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. “Today we honor the memory, the work and the sacrifice of those who saw a better vision for our state and our country.”

Rep. Terri Sewell, speaking in her hometown, said she remembers her mother trying to explain to her the importance of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the events that took place there when she was 5-years-old.

“It is important for all of us to know that the story of Selma is the story of America. It’s America’s struggle,” Sewell said. “It tells us that ordinary Americans can collectively work to achieve extraordinary social change.”

Also in appearance were 103-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson, who is often called the Matriarch of the Voting Rights Movement, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist Al Sharpton, Dr. Martin Luther King III and many others.

Although Sunday’s bridge crossing jubilee march is still to come, Saturday’s events were the culmination of months of planning.

Mayor George Evans thanked all the dignitaries for coming, reflected back at how far Selma has come in 50 years and looked forward at the progress yet to be made.

“We have come a long way but we yet have a long way to go,” Evans said. “We still have many bridges to cross.”