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Editor’s Note: U.S. Rep. Mark Takai is among lawmakers taking part in the annual congressional civil rights pilgrimage to Alabama, this year marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. He’ll be sharing personal posts during the three-day trip.

MONTGOMERY, ALA. — I feel incredibly honored to be here on this 15th annual Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Marches. The voting rights, civil rights and equal treatment that we enjoy today, we owe directly to those who bravely stood up in 1965 for what is right.

Alabama was the site of some of the most violent attacks made on civil rights activists. Many paid in pain, some with their lives. As a citizen, civil servant and, most importantly, a father, I have in my heart so much gratitude and aloha for those who fought that tough uphill battle to ensure equal voting rights for all Americans.

On Friday, we left Washington, D.C., and arrived in Birmingham. We were deeply moved while visiting the sites of some of the terrible, pivotal moments in the civil rights movement. A stop at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute highlighted the hard-fought battles during the critical years and months leading up to the march in Selma.

We also visited the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of the infamous bombing orchestrated by cowardly white supremacists, an attack that took the lives of four young girls and wounded 22 others.

Congressman John Lewis, with whom I’m proud to serve and honored to call friend, spoke about his time as a young black man who joined the Freedom Marchers and is the only member of the “Big Six” still with us today.

I was overwhelmed with emotion while visiting these places, imagining what happened and feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the liberties and rights we enjoy now. The courage and dedication that civil rights activists displayed in the face of fear and tremendous odds, to me, can be compared to the strength and unconquerable will of this nation.

I also met many young students today from states throughout the nation, including Georgia and California. These students, all seniors in high school and roughly the same age that Congressman Lewis was when he first got involved in the civil rights movement, were selected to participate in this significant weekend, either because of their affiliation with a peace organization or their positions as student journalists. I’m glad to see our younger generation already engaging in activities that build on the events of 50 years ago.

Looking at them and being among so many reminders of the hard-fought victories of the civil rights movement brings familiar words to mind: We indeed shall overcome.