Selma Historic Bridge, Selma, ALABAMA: The Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, also known as Bloody Sunday and the two marches that followed, marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. On March 7, 1965,...See moreSelma Historic Bridge, Selma, ALABAMA: The Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, also known as Bloody Sunday and the two marches that followed, marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. On March 7, 1965, an estimated 525 to 600 civil rights marchers headed east out of Selma on U.S. Highway 80. The march was led by John Lewis of SNCC and the Reverend Hosea Williams of SCLC. The first march took place on March 7, 1965 - "Bloody Sunday" - when 600 marchers, protesting the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and ongoing exclusion from the electoral process, were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. The second march, the following Tuesday, resulted in 2,500 protesters turning around after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On March 9, a day that would become known as "Turnaround Tuesday", Dr. King led about 2,500 marchers out to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and held a short prayer session before turning the marchers back around, thereby obeying the court order preventing them from marching all the way to Montgomery. On March 21, close to 8,000 people assembled at Brown Chapel to commence the trek to Montgomery. The third march spread the marchers' message without harassment by police and segregation supporters. These factors, along with more widespread support from other civil rights organizations in the area, made the march an overall success and gave the demonstration greater impact. The route is memorialized as the Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail, a U.S. National Historic Trail. Written by
Constantinos Isaias
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