WASHINGTON -- Annie Abrams is old enough to remember when schools were segregated and blacks were required to sit at the back of the bus.
On Wednesday, the Little Rock civil-rights activist sat on the front row in Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill as President Barack Obama and congressional leaders celebrated the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Enacted just months after the end of the Civil War, it states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
The measure was ratified Dec. 6, 1865.
Obama said the damage done by slavery has been long-lasting, telling the crowd that "the scars of our nation's original sin are still with us today."
Two days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," Obama forcefully denounced religious intolerance.
"We betray the efforts of the past if we fail to push back against bigotry in all its forms," Obama said. "Our freedom is bound up with the freedom of others, regardless of what they look like or where they come from or what their last name is or what faith they practice."
Seated beside members of Congress and a military band, Abrams applauded.
Afterward, Abrams said the president's message was the perfect response to Trump.
"There could never have been a better time for us to be reminded of how far we've come, but how we can slide back if we don't be vigilant. And that's what this was," Abrams said.
Abrams, a former schoolteacher, was friends with fellow civil-rights leader Daisy Bates and worked to end desegregation. She also fought to change the name of Little Rock's High Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Although a Democratic Party activist and frequent Democratic National Convention delegate, Abrams sometimes supports Republicans.
Most notably, she helped Winthrop Rockefeller defeat Democrat Jim Johnson in the 1966 governor's race.
In 2014, she also endorsed Republican French Hill in the 2nd Congressional District.
It was Hill who invited Abrams to Wednesday's event.
"When I think about the civil-rights movement and all that's happened in the 20th century as it relates to freedom and civil rights, I think of Annie Abrams and her leadership in our city," the Little Rock Republican said.
The former bank executive and the retired educator have known each other since the 1990s.
"She's a good friend; she's been a great mentor to me," Hill said. "I wanted to share this day with her."
Hill wasn't the only member of the delegation eager to spend time with Abrams.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton also tracked her down, greeting her warmly and smiling broadly as she wrapped her arm around him.
After posing for pictures, the Dardanelle Republican said passage of the 13th Amendment "once and for all prohibits all forms of slavery in our country. ... It's a great occasion and a great moment in our history in working towards a more perfect union."
Like Abrams, both Cotton and Hill said they reject efforts to prevent Muslims from entering the U.S.
"I think it would be counterproductive," Cotton said, adding that only "a small percentage" of Muslims want to attack the West. Instead, the U.S. should focus on developing better screening systems and work with moderate Muslim allies in places like Indonesia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to counter extremism.
Hill said Trump "speaks to the fear of the American people" when he calls for excluding all Muslim visitors.
"It's a bad idea. It's not constitutional. It's not in the traditional approach of how America has handled refugees, asylum seekers or immigrants," Hill said. "We can maintain national security and monitor who comes in this country and maintain our tradition of not discriminating against people because of their religion."
As she prepared to go to the post-ceremony luncheon, Abrams said Wednesday's event had given her spirit a charge.
"Even though I have 100,000 miles on this old car, I got a tune-up today. That's what it meant to be here," she said.
A Section on 12/10/2015