President Biden paid tribute to Bettie Mae Fikes, a Selma entertainer and Bloody Sunday foot soldier, during his State of the Union address Thursday while asking Congress to pass voting rights legislation.

Fikes sat in the first lady’s and second gentleman’s viewing box during the address as Biden acknowledged the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

“A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday, to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law,” Biden said.

“But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time,” the president added. “Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering.”

Biden noted that John Lewis, the late Georgia congressman and Alabama native who was brutally assaulted during Bloody Sunday, could be honored if Congress approves two pieces of voting rights legislation — the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

“John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time to do more than talk,” the president said. “Pass the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.”

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would restore preclearance for areas with patterns of voting rights violations — a provision that was gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder — and protect poll workers from threats and intimidation, among other measures.