There were 15,000 “voting eligible” African Americans living in Selma, Alabama. Only 383 were registered to vote. It was very hard just to vote. A majority of the African Americans would be whipped or beaten if they would try to vote. If African Americans tried to vote sometimes people would beat, kill, or harm the African American or his/her family. When an African American would vote they would be handed a literacy test. A majority of African Americans could not read, so most failed the test. African Americans also had to own property as well, which was very difficult. Lastly, an African American had to have a grandfather who could legally vote. Overall, it is clear that it was very hard, dangerous, and scary to try to vote as an African American back in 1965. The difficulty with voting is the reason why The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Conference joined together to march for equal voting rights.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined together to form a peaceful protest group. Their goal was to have equal voting for all. When African Americans in the South would try to vote they would be beaten, whipped, or harassed. When an African American went to apply to vote, he had to meet certain criteria; a perfect literacy test, you had to own land, or your grandfather had to have the right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr. was supposed to lead the march on March 7, 1965. Unfortunately, Martin Luther King Jr. was in Atlanta, Georgia and was unable to attend. So Hosea Williams of The SNCC and John Lewis of SNCC filled in for Martin Luther King Jr. 600 marchers gathered together to march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery and the statehouse. They had marched six blocks on U.S route 60. When the marchers approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge they were met by officers. The officers were standing in a long line, where they then told the marchers they had two minutes to disperse. When the protester knelt to pray, violence broke out. Officers attacked the marchers using clubs and tear gas. 58 people were injured. This day is now known as Bloody Sunday.
Martin Luther King Jr. was shocked when he found out about “Bloody Sunday”. King immediately sent out a notice that there was going to be another march, but this time they were going to march all the way from Selma to Montgomery. Martin Luther King Jr. sought permission from the court, so that there would not be another “Bloody Sunday”. Martin Luther King Jr. invited lots of religious leaders to help lead the march. On March 21, 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. led a march from Selma to Montgomery, which was fifty-four miles. When the marchers were crossing the Edmund Pettis Bridge Martin Luther King Jr. stopped them and asked them to pray. They continued to march for several days, until they reached their final destination on March 25, 1965 at the capitol of Montgomery, Alabama. When the march began, they only had 1,900 marchers, but when they reached Montgomery with they had 25,000 marchers! This influenced the Civil Rights movement so much, that within five months President Johnson signed the Equal Voting Act of 1965.
There was a few leaders of the march Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and Hosea Williams. They faced a lot of problems when it came to the protests and marches. One of their complications was Officer Clark. Officer Clark was The governor at the time, Governor wallace told officer Clark that he is not aloud to have a repeat of “ Bloody Sunday”. On Bloody Sunday, John Lewis and Hosea Williams filled in for Martin Luther King Jr. because he was in Atlanta, Georgia. They also had to deal with police officers and the law. Martin Luther King Jr. had to call off protests because of a restraining order known as “ turnaround Tuesday”. John Lewis was ready to die for what he believed in he also knew that what he was fighting for would change history. Martin Luther King Jr. also believes that Selma march inspired the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Martin luther king Jr. gave his speech at the end of the march.
Even with the Selma march being 50 years ago people are still celebrating it. President Obama recently marched his family and other people to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the march. Many of the original “foot soldiers” joined him on the march. Congressman John Lewis stood arm and arm with President Obama and Michelle Obama. John Lewis was one of the people that helped organized the march in 1965.