Change comes to Selma

History sometimes marches slowly. In 1965, when hundreds of civil-rights protestors crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, they met the boots and batons of the local police. This week, citizens of the mainly black town again filed across the bridge, this time to celebrate the election of their first black mayor, James Perkins. In a run-off election, Mr Perkins defeated Joseph Smitherman, the incumbent of 36 years and a defender of segregation during the 1960s. “The blacks decided they wanted a change and now they've got one,” said Mr Smitherman, “They brought in all these celebrities to energise the voters.” Three decades of struggle probably did not hurt the cause, either.