- Fantasy Vote
- Fantasy Vote
There were three attempts to march to Montgomery from Selma. The first attempt was on March 7th, it was ended in utter failure. On the second try on March 9th was a bit better, but wasn’t the cherry on top. On March 21st the third and final march took four days to complete and was a huge success. Finally, everyone in the march was protesting outside of montgomery Capitol building for their rights.
Sunday March 7th, 1965. 600 African Americans gather at Brown Chapel, the starting place of the historic march. Led by Hosea Williams and John Lewis, the group of African Americans start the march but to only be stopped by armed policemen at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The policemen were sent there by Governor George Wallace. Wallace was a heavily segregated man who didn’t believe that African Americans should gain the right to vote. The protesters refused to move after the police ordered them to disperse. Police then used violent force on them by beating them with billy clubs, bull whips, and throwing tear gas at them. 80 people were injured that day, but no one was killed. The event was widely televised, giving Selma national attention, driving people from all over the country down south to participate in the march.
Dr. King, the leader of The Civil Rights Movement, organized the march. Along in the march the groups SCLC ( Southern Christian Leadership Council) and the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) joined forces to march to Montgomery. All of this for the right to vote. As the marches moved on the more people joined the protest. During first march, there were 600 people and the second march that number grew to 2,000 and the third march was about 3000 people both black and white joined forces to fight for rights.
Due to the amount of publicity, Selma exploded in popularity. What was only about 600 people to begin with, ended at about 3,000 African Americans. The third march took place on March 21st, 1965. Judge Frank M. Johnson allowed the march to go through, and on the same day, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Johnson sent federal enforcements to Selma to guard the non-violent protesters. They set out from Brown Chapel on the 54 mile long march to Montgomery. It took four days to complete the journey. The protesters would walk 12 hours a day, sleeping in fields along the way. When they arrived in Montgomery, nearly 50,000 people greeted the marchers. King gave his famous, “How Long, Not Long” speech at the capitol building. The Selma to Montgomery march left a lasting impact on the Civil Rights Movement, giving African Americans the right to vote.
Selma to Montgomery has just recently been revived in the 2015 movie, Selma. The movie largely follows the events of what happened in real life. It was released on January 15th, but was re released on March 20th, for the 50th anniversary of the successful march. The movie was made to remind people of the events that occurred during Selma marches. It also shows how African Americans were treated back then.