On March 7th, 1965, 60 years ago today, hundreds of civil rights activists gathered in Selma, Alabama, to march to the state capital, Montgomery. (About a 54 mile distance) They were protesting unfair laws that made it almost impossible for Black Americans to vote. The march was peaceful, but when they reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, police attacked them with clubs, tear gas, and whips. This violent event became known as Bloody Sunday, and it played a major role in the fight for voting rights in the United States.
During the 1960s, Black Americans in the South faced many obstacles when trying to vote. Even though the U.S. Constitution gave all citizens the right to vote. Some had to take nearly impossible literacy tests, pay unfair taxes, or face threats from white officials and the Ku Klux Klan. In Selma, only about 2% of Black citizens were registered to vote because of these barriers.
The situation was heightened after a young Black activist named Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed by an Alabama state trooper on February 18, 1965. Jackson was shot while trying to protect his mother during a protest. His death angered the civil rights movement, leading leaders like John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to organize the Selma-to-Montgomery march.
On the morning of March 7, 1965, about 600 peaceful marchers left Selma, led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams. They walked in pairs, carrying signs and singing freedom songs. As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met by Alabama state troopers and Sheriff Jim Clark’s officers, who were waiting with clubs, tear gas, and horses.
The police ordered the marchers to turn around. Before they could respond, officers attacked them, beating them with clubs and whips while spraying them with tear gas. Many were knocked to the ground and badly injured. John Lewis was hit so hard that his skull was fractured. The attack was caught on camera and shown on television.
After the attack, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led another march on March 9, 1965, but he turned back when faced with more police violence. Finally, under protection from federal troops, thousands of marchers completed the 54-mile journey from Selma to Montgomery from March 21-25.
The violent images from Bloody Sunday convinced President Lyndon B. Johnson to act. On August 6, 1965, he signed the Voting Rights Act, which banned unfair voting laws and protected Black citizens’ right to vote.
