The Selma to Montgomery marches took place from March 7, 1965 to March 25, 1965. The goal of these marches was voting rights for blacks. The result of these marches was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were three marches that would take place between March 7th and March 25th. This march highlighted the racial injustice in the South. The march from Selma to Montgomery was a 54 mile walk. President Lyndon B Johnson considered Martin Luther King Jr. a essential partner in getting the Voting Rights Act enacted.
The first march took place on March 7, 1965. This march was organized by James Bevel, Amelia Boynton and others. There was an estimated number of 525 to 600 marchers. The March was led by John Lewis of SNCC and Reverend Hosea Williams of SCLC. The march was peaceful until they passed county line and were attacked by state troopers with billy clubs and tear gas. This march would be known as "Bloody Sunday." One of the organizers, Amelia Boynton, was beaten unconscious. She survived, lived a long life and died in August 2015 at the age of 110.
The second march took place March 9, 1965 and this march would be known as "Turnaround Tuesday." For this march an estimated number of about 2,500 marchers marched. Troopers and marchers meet at the end of the bridge and when troopers moved to let them pass Martin Luther King Jr. turned them around and led them back to the church. King did this because he was obeying a federal injunction while seeking protection from the federal court. James Reeb, a white man from Boston who was apart of the march, was beaten that night by a white group and would later die. The events of Bloody Sunday and the death of James Reeb led to a national outcry targeting both the Alabama State and federal governments.
The third march took place between March 21, 1965 and March 25, 1965. A judge had sided with the protestors and that they had a right to protest under the 1st amendment. The president offered protection for the marchers with 2,000 soldiers of the US Army, 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard and FBI agents and Federal Marshalls. The beginning of the march on March 21, 1965 consisted of close to 8,000 marchers. They started the long walk to Montgomery. A judges orders were that no more than 300 marchers for the two days they would be crossing the two lane portion of highway-80 because of traffic. Most of the marchers returned to Selma and left 300 people to camp overnight for the next day trek. On March 22nd and 23rd, 300 marchers marched in the rain through Lowndes County. On March 24, 1965 the march crossed into Montgomery County. When they crossed into Montgomery County additional marchers were transported by bus and car to join. On the final day which was March 25, 1965 there was 25,000 people who marched from St Jude to the State Capitol Building where Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver a speech.
The route the marchers took is memorialized as the "Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Trail." This trail is designated as a US National Historic Trail.
Citation:
"Selma to Montgomery Marches." Wikipedia. N.p., 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Photo Credit:
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/press/marches-for-civil-rights
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/4433299608735561/
http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2015/03/retrospective-the-march-from-selma-to-montgomery/#1
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Selma-to-Montgomery-Bloody-Sunday0
http://dreammarcheson.com
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches#The_march_to_Montgomery
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