Selma, Alabama and the Right To Vote

Aim : Examine the campaign to allow Black Americans to vote freely.

The Problem of Voting By 1964 Martin Luther King had become world famous because of his role in the Civil Rights Movement. Black Americans had been given the right to vote in 1870 but various laws and rule in the South made it difficult for Black people to vote. King strongly believed that having the right to vote was the key to equality. Only then could racists leaders be removed from state governments. In 1965 King famously said. ‘The Civil Rights Act gave Negroes some part of their rightful dignity, but without the vote it was dignity without strength’.

Selma, Alabama 1965 Selma had 15,000 Blacks who should have been able to vote but only 335 had been able to register. Once again, Martin Luther King hoped to stage a protest which would achieve huge publicity and highlight the fact that Blacks were being denied the right to vote. This was a risky plan and it was likely that demonstrators would face violence – some historians believe that King and other civil rights leaders wanted this because of the huge publicity it would achieve.

The March Begins On Sunday 7 th March 1965 the Selma to Birmingham march began. 600 protestors took part and they were met by 200 state soldiers and local police armed with tear gas, sticks and bull whips. The marchers refused to turn back, tear gas was deployed and the marchers were beaten and whipped – 17 people ended up in hospital. ‘Bloody Sunday’ horrified the American nation.

The March Continues On Sunday 21 st March, the march began again. King and his supporters went to court and had legal permission to continue the march. All across American, people travelled to Selma to support the protests. 25,000 people took part in the March. Hours later, four KKK members shot and killed a Civil Rights protestor. In August 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.

Impact of the Voting Rights Act 1965 Removed barriers that stop Blacks from registering to vote e.g. Literacy tests Within three years most of the Black population in the South were registered to vote. There was now greater opportunity for Blacks to become politicians White Politicians realised that they needed Black votes to stay in power.

Tasks: Read pages of your workguide. Answer question one from page 90. Answer questions one and two from page 91.