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By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will call on Americans to carry forward the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement on Saturday during a visit to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a march that sparked the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Obama, the first black U.S. president, will deliver remarks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where police and state troopers beat and used tear gas against peaceful marchers who were advocating against racial discrimination at the voting booth. The event became known as "Bloody Sunday" and prompted a follow-up march led by civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. During a trip to South Carolina on Friday, Obama said he planned to focus on the future in his speech. "Selma is not just about commemorating the past. It's about honoring the legends who helped change this country through your actions today, in the here and now," he told a town hall-style meeting.
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