Bloody Sunday March 7, 1965

The Fight for Voting Rights Even after passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 made segregation officially illegal, discrimination was not over, especially when it came to voting rights. Southern state lawmakers passed a series of discriminatory requirements and practices to prevent people of color from voting. Less than 1% of people of color in Selma were registered to vote. Activists organized Voter Registration Campaigns and were met with fierce racist resistance.

Local and regional protests in Alabama (one of the most racist states led by a racist governor George Wallace) brought many prominent civil rights leaders to the state in January 1965. By the end of February over 3000 protestors had been arrested in Alabama alone in only 2 months. On February 18, 1965 peaceful protestor Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed while protesting. He was shot by a state trooper during a peaceful march. Much like in modern police killings, that trooper was never even charged with a crime.

Selma to Montgomery Marches Marches were organized as a peaceful and non-violent way to protest the continuing injustice. The First March took place on March 7, 1965 About 600 people gathered at First Baptist Church in Selma ready to make the 54 mile trek to the capital of Montgomery. Selma to Montgomery Marches

The NON VIOLENT PROTESTORS were immediately met with fierce resistance The NON VIOLENT PROTESTORS were immediately met with fierce resistance. A few blocks from the start of their journey, after crossing the Edmund Pettis Bridge. They were met by an army of state and local law enforcement officers with tear gas and billy clubs. They were beaten and abused savagely.

This event would become known as: “Bloody Sunday” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3fq79yKGaQ This event would become known as: “Bloody Sunday”

March organizer Amelia Boynton was beaten unconscious March organizer Amelia Boynton was beaten unconscious. The media publicized pic of her lying wounded near the bridge went “1960’s viral”

introduced the VOTING RIGHTS ACT. 2 Days Later “Turnaround Tuesday” was march attempt number 2. The State of Alabama and local governments refused to protect marchers, despite pleas from President Lyndon Johnson. Martin Luther King Jr. worked out a deal with President Johnson to hold off the march. Marchers returned to their church in Selma so protection could be organized. That night: JAMES REEB, a white minister from Boston who had come to join the marchers, was attacked, beaten, and killed by 4 angry white men. They were arrested and indicted. The all white local Alabama jury, however, found them ALL NOT GUILTY, despite overwhelming evidence and witness testimony. The violence of Bloody Sunday and Reeb’s murder sparked a national outcry. On March 15, 1965 President Johnson, in a televised speech before congress, introduced the VOTING RIGHTS ACT. He denounced the “deplorable brutality with which negro citizens were treated”. He also vowed to send federal support to protect the marchers

A 3rd march from Selma to Montgomery began on March 21, 1965 A 3rd march from Selma to Montgomery began on March 21, 1965. 1900 members of the National Guard came to protect the 25,000 marchers. On March 25, 4 days later, they arrived at the state capital. Months Later on August 6, 1965, The Voting Rights Act was signed into law. That law is still being challenged today. Parts of the law have been “struck down”. The fight for equal rights has not ended and people of color are still being denied their voting rights.