![]() NPS Photo Dallas, Lowndes, and Montgomery Counties in the Early 1900sIn the years of post-reconstruction Jim Crow laws, suppression of African American citizens' right to vote through the use of targeted voter registration restrictions and intimidation was widespread in the American South. Because of this, 0% of the African American population in Lowndes County was able to vote, and only 2% percent in Dallas County. The Murder of Jimmie Lee JacksonOn the evening of February 18th, 1965 during a protest to free SCLC supporter Rev. James Orange from the Perry County Jail, in Marion, AL, Alabama state troopers violently broke up the demonstration, resulting in the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a civil rights activist and Perry County native. Jackson was shot in the abdomen and died from his wounds on February 26th, 1965. In response to Jackson's death, a march to the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery was planned — Sunday, March 7th, was the chosen day for the first march attempt. First March AttemptOn March 7th, approximately 600 non-violent protestors, the vast majority being African-American, departed from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma with the intent on marching 54-miles to Montgomery, as a memorial to Jimmie Lee Jackson and to protest for voter's rights. As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met by state troopers and local volunteer officers of the sheriff's department who blocked their path. Second March AttemptIn response to the attack, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for another march on Tuesday, March 9th. Known as "Turnaround Tuesday," Dr. King led a second march of approximately 1,500 protestors to the site of the Bloody Sunday attack where state troopers blocked the path of the march again. Deciding not to risk violent confrontation, members of the clergy led the group in prayer, after which, the group returned to Selma; this time they were not attacked. However, that evening, three Unitarian ministers who had traveled to Selma in order to join the protest were attacked by a group of white men. On March 11th Rev. James Reeb died from his injuries. ![]() Third and Final March AttemptThe civil rights protestors sought and received protection for a third march, which was granted by Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. on March 17th, which restrained Alabama state troopers and Dallas county sheriff from interfering with the march. On March 21st, the official Selma to March began, with more than 4,000 protestors departing from the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to begin the five-day march. Marchers spent nights at four campsites along the trail — the final campsite on the outskirts of Montgomery had thousands more protestors waiting to join the marchers on the last leg of their journey. Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965The march brought national attention to the voting rights struggle faced by African Americans, and the media coverage of the march and the violent protests leading up to it put pressure on Congress and the Johnson administration to take action on the issue. On August 6th, five months after the marches, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law, making it possible for African Americans in the South to register to vote. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act, registration of African American voters in Central Alabama increased dramatically. |
![]() |
![]() |
Last updated: August 6, 2022