MONTGOMERY (AP) — Thousands of people rallied Saturday in the cradle of the modern Civil Rights Movement to mobilise a new voting rights era as conservative states dismantle congressional districts that helped secure black political representation.

US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey called Montgomery “sacred soil” in the fight for civil rights.

“If we in our generation do not now do our duty, we will lose the gains and the rights and the liberties that our ancestors afforded us,” Booker said.