...In early 1965, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) made Selma, Alabama, the focus of its efforts to register black voters in the South. That March, protesters attempting to march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery were met with violent resistance by state and local authorities. As the world watched, the protesters (under the protection of federalized National Guard troops) finally achieved their goal, walking around the clock for three days to reach Montgomery. The historic march, and King’s participation in it, greatly helped raise awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters in the South, and the need for a Voting Rights Act, passed later that year.Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination in voting on the basis of race, efforts by civil rights organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to register black voters met with fierce resistance in southern states such as Alabama. In early 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. and SCLC decided to make Selma, located in Dallas County, Alabama, the focus of a voter registration campaign. Alabama Governor George Wallace was a notorious opponent of desegregation, and the local county sheriff in Dallas County had led a steadfast opposition to black voter registration drives. As a result, only 2 percent of Selma’s eligible black voters (300 out of 15,000) had managed to register.King had won...
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
...In the movie Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. fought for what he believed in was not always supported by his wife Coretta Scott King, despite the obstacles given by the pro slavery citizens of Salem. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential man who led the Civil Rights movement. Martin and Coretta were happily married while fighting for equality for African Americans. Then King began to have troubles with his wife. Coretta was concerned about the numerous death threats to Dr. King and she didn’t want to lose her husband. Coretta asked King if he loved her, because if he did, he would know that she really just wanted him to stop putting himself in danger. Although King loved Coretta, he refused to stop leading the Civil Rights movement, because...
Words: 274 - Pages: 2
...Be Inspired as the struggle as for equality continues… Release Date: 9 January 2015 Directed by: Ava Duvernay Cast: David Oyelowo played the role of Martin Luther King Jr. Oprah Winfrey played the role of Annie Lee Cooper Carmen Ejogo played the role of Correta Scott King Tim Roth played the role of Governer George Wallace Tom Wilkinson played the role of President Lyndon Johnson Are we equal? Is racial discrimination a thing of the past? Are there lessons to be learnt from the campaign which lobby for Blacks to have the right to vote as depicted in this movie? The movie is based on a period in the life of Martin Luther King Jr played by David Oyelowo, this period starts with him accepting the Noble Peace Prize. During this period Martin Kuther King Jr. campaigns for the black man’s right to vote in America. The film take us through the drama and tragedy of this period. This movie has highlighted that we might be equal on paper but to be equal in society we need to fight for it. The movie tells the story of human rights violations and that of the civil rights movement and the struggle to register to vote black people had in America. The story of black man’s right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr. the charismatic civil rights movement leader, who just won the Noble Peace Prize for his work in ending segregation, however does that mean we equal. Annie Lee Cooper a black women who want to register to vote. President Lyndon Johnson who had to make tough decision...
Words: 637 - Pages: 3
...account of those times as told to me by my mother, Mazie Brewer Wilmer. The period I will cover in her life happens between 1963-1965. She was fifteen years old, had been born in Camden, Wilcox County, Alabama in January of 1948. In 2010, the population was approximately 2,100 which hasn’t changed much since the ‘60’s. I have fond memories of the annual summer vacation and Christmas holiday trips from Michigan to Alabama, part of the journey along the way brought us across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, located on US-80 and spans over the Alabama River. As I was preparing to write this diary, I discovered the bridge that my brother, sister and I would close our eyes while crossing was the site of major Civil Rights activity. Located in Selma, AL, it was named for a Confederate brigadier general, named Edmund Winston Pettus, he was also a U.S. Senator from Alabama. It is the site of Bloody Sunday which occurred on March 7, 1965. Peaceful, non-violent civil rights advocates were attacked at this site by armed officers. On March 11, 2013, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark. My name is Mazie, I am the 8th child born to Rev. and Mrs. Zollie Edward Brewer. I became involved in civil rights events in my small community at a very early age, not even able to imagine at the time the changes that were taking place in America as a whole. I remember being 15 years old when a young, black student named, Phillip Young was hit by a club and badly injured, this caused the...
Words: 797 - Pages: 4
...to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. Although this was not the case as the years progressed. Many states in the south implemented rules such as a literacy tests, civics tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and violence. Many colored people’s voting rights were opressed up until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. Despite the rights guaranteed by the 14th amendment, the racial discrimination going on at polls did not begin to change until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. A key force in this process were the multiple protests and marches led by civil rights activists and voting rights activists nationwide. One of the main marches was the Selma to Montgomery march on March 7, 1965. A group of 600 people gathered for a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery to raise awareness about the voter oppression that was going on in their county. Although the bravery all of those 600 people showed that day may be inspiring, it came with dire consequences. At the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the group was met by a gathering of local and state law men that chased them off with tear gas, billy clubs, and horses. This day came to be known as “Bloody Sunday”, and although a painful time for this country it was also a wake up call. Reports of the violence outraged many Americans and the videos were even more gruesome and compelling. It was then that many people realized that what was going on was wrong and it needed to be stopped. The pressure on President...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
...Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: Legendary Leader Matthew M. Thomas Harrison College Instructor Ward March 13, 2015 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: Legendary Leader Black history month of 2015 saw some milestones. The 50th anniversary of bloody Sunday and the movie “Selma” which tells the story of Dr. King’s march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama. These milestones have also made people reflect on the greatest leader in African American history, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this paper, we will look at Dr. King’s traits, ethics, leadership style, and his method of creating team work in such a way that it changed the world forever. Dr. King’s Traits and Characteristics Dr. King was an Honest, god-fearing, loving person who got his roots in the African American church. Dr. King was a visionary who knew how to keep his eyes on the prize of equal rights, and he also had an ability that few possess to this day. He had the ability to people who normally would be feuding to work together toward a common cause. His famous “I Have a Dream” speech is a great testament to Dr. King’s ability to move the hearts of all men. Dr. King displayed courage in the face of adversity. He was sprayed with water as well as his followers and till yet he was consistent. Consistent with his fight and his message of protest and non-violence. He kept the entire movement moving in the right direction even when it seemed the movement for equality would destroy itself. When...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...finally gave African Americans the freedom to vote. The Selma to Montgomery March and the March on Washington were two of the most significant and publicized events that provided the impetus for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Selma was a highly segregated, but small, city in Alabama. Only about 300 of Selma's 1,500 African Americans were registered to vote; that’s only 3%. The SNCC tried to work with their local black leaders to register more blacks to vote. But the fact that Selma’s sheriff was a very racist white man wasn’t the most optimal (CRM 1). When activists arrived in Selma they instantly met resistance from Sheriff Clark, “He initially arrested sixty-seven black people attempting to register to vote...deputies arrested one hundred sixty-five protesters and then chased them out of town with electric cattle prods” (CRM 2). The big breaking point for civil rights activists in Selma was the fatal shot from police that killed young demonstrator Jimmy Lee Jackson (Englebert 103). All of these awful factors are why Selma got chosen to have the march. Even though it took several attempts to complete the Selma to Montgomery March, it was a substantial step towards getting the Voting Rights Act being passed. The first Selma to Montgomery attempt was Sunday, March 7,1965; it was also known as Bloody Sunday. Hosea William, SCLC leader, and John Lewis, SNCC chairman, led the crowd of more than 500 people out of Selma to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge (CRM 2). Since Governor...
Words: 1222 - Pages: 5
...the feeling would be like to actually cast my first vote. Because today we will march. We will march for our right to vote, for the ability to physically vote, without the acts of violence, and without literacy tests. I got to the church where everyone was told to meet. One of the leaders of SNCC reminded us that this was a peaceful demonstration and no one will act in violence in the face of violence. Really!? I said to myself. If someone becomes violent with me I cannot just turn the other cheek, if they want war I’ll give them war. But as soon as I thought this our leaders reminded us that we cannot show the same hatred they show to us, because then we become the same, evil. The march was set to be 56 miles long. We were to march from Selma to our states capitol, Montgomery. Activists came from all around to participate in today’s demonstration. In all about 600 people arrived ready to have our voices heard by the government, ready for equality, and ready for humanity. Even the ABC news came out to broadcast the event to the entire nation, I knew this day would go down in history if the news station was here to capture it all. As we set out on our journey I could already imagine myself standing in line, in anticipation, waiting to vote. And as I get to the ballot I am not beaten, I am not taken away to jail, and there are no hoops or rings of fire to jump through....
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
...greatly disputed within the historical community. Some historians such as Anthony Badger argue that there was 'no person more important' than King, whilst others, such as Clayborne Carson believe the opposite: that even without King the civil rights movement would have 'followed a course of development similar to the one it did'. Differing from both these beliefs, there were factors more important than King in the passing of these acts, however, King was far from an inefficacious factor as Carson suggests. Rather he was an important political giant who was (along with his Southern Christian Leadership Conference) an instrumental aid to a number of vital incidents that massively helped catalyse the passage of the acts. Incidents such as the Selma march and the subsequent "Bloody Sunday" a well as his role in the Birmingham and Washington marches. His role as a prominent activist and talented orator added to King's importance as it allowed him to proliferate ideas of peaceful protest and civil disobedience to the masses. However, despite King's distribution of ideas to the masses, it is the masses themselves, or rather the local leaders of them, with whom the greatest credit for the passing of these acts must be placed due to the pressure they placed on the presidency to enact legislation. What's more the role of Presidents Johnson and to a lesser extent Kennedy play a highly important role in the passing of the bills. Notwithstanding, King's role as a medium for the precipitation...
Words: 1852 - Pages: 8
... who were the German noble that the peasant were revolting against. In order to retain his support he wrote Against the Murdering, Thieving Hordes of Peasants. In Which he wrote, “ The peasants for got their place, violently took matter into their own hands, and are robbing and raging like mad dogs…. Anyone who consorts with them goes to the devil with them and is guilty of all evil deeds that they commit.” Luther wrote this to ensure his nobles that he was loyal to them and was no breaking from noble authority, only from Church authority. The 1524 German peasants revolt is similar to the civil rights movement. Both “revolts” were about gaining rights and going against the main authority. For, example in Selma, Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, in protest, raising awareness of how difficult it was be black and vote in the South. The authority, or the police, tried to stop their march using violence, just like when the peasant revolt was shut down by the nobles forces. Though their goals were different their tactics were similar gain more rights for themselves and better their...
Words: 942 - Pages: 4
...Sixties I 1. A Movement in Motion a. Turning Trend i. On 1960, students from North Carolina A&T State University, entered a department store, sat at the counter and refused to leave the white’s only section 1. Names: Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, and David Richmond – members of CORE, Congress of Racial Equality (1942) ii. They utilized sit in agitation, and did so for five months iii. Other Protests 1. A Phillip Randolph – march on Washington 1941 2. Ruth Powell, Marianne Musgrave and Juanita Marrow arrest caused the formation of a Civil Rights Committee from campus organization leaders a. Organized sit ins on April 1943 at Little Palace Cafeteria on 14th U b. April 1944 a sit in took place at Thompsons Restaurant at 11th and Pennsylvania Ave – 2 weeks i. 56 students sat in, while representatives negotiated with the management 3. But these events did not become common knowledge within the media 4. In 1943, Core had started with sit-ins in The Jack Spratt Coffee House, in Chicago a. This was settled within a day by police officers b. This event also was viewed as regional – moment vs. movement b. Moment to Movement i. What does this mean? 1. Moments to Movements a. Irene Morgan vs. Rosa Parks i. Morgan refused to give up her seat in 1944 and was arrested ii. She went to the Supreme Court, and won iii. Morgan vs. Commonwealth of Virginia...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...The Selma to Montgomery marches was three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL). In 1963, the DCVL and organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began voter-registration work. When white resistance to Black voter registration proved intractable, the DCVL requested the assistance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who brought many prominent civil rights and civic leaders to support voting rights. Planning the First March With civil rights activity blocked by Judge Hare's injunction, the DCVL requested the assistance of King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Three of SCLC's main organizers— Director of Direct Action and Nonviolent Education James Bevel, Diane Nash, and James Orange— had been working on Bevel's Alabama Voting Rights Project since late 1963, a project which King and the executive board of SCLC had not joined. When SCLC officially accepted Amelia Boynton's invitation to bring their organization to Selma, Bevel, Nash, Orange and others in SCLC began working in Selma in December 1964. They also worked in the surrounding counties along with the SNCC staff that had been active there since early 1963. The Selma Voting Rights Movement officially started on January 2, 1965...
Words: 1717 - Pages: 7
...The Basics on the Civil Right Movement Because large segments of the populace--particularly African-Americans, women, and men without property--have not always been accorded full citizenship rights in the American Republic, civil rights movements, or "freedom struggles," have been frequent features of the nation's history. In particular, movements to obtain civil rights for black Americans have had special historical significance. Such movements have not only secured citizenship rights for blacks but have also redefined prevailing conceptions of the nature of civil rights and the role of government in protecting these rights. The most important achievements of African-American civil rights movements have been the post-Civil War constitutional amendments that abolished slavery and established the citizenship status of blacks and the judicial decisions and legislation based on these amendments, notably the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of 1954, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Moreover, these legal changes greatly affected the opportunities available to women, nonblack minorities, disabled individuals, and other victims of discrimination. The modern period of civil rights reform can be divided into several phases, each beginning with isolated, small-scale protests and ultimately resulting in the emergence of new, more militant movements, leaders, and organizations. The Brown decision demonstrated that the litigation...
Words: 1943 - Pages: 8
...the continual racism of the South. No matter how many Supreme Court decisions, the South refused to give in, especially in voter registration. This is not surprising, in that, the real fear for the white community was the control of the ballot box by the black community. Eventually, this would lead to the election of black officials, which appalled most social circles of the South. Therefore, there was considerable resistance to blacks registering to vote throughout Mississippi and Alabama. Ultimately, Martin Luther King would lead the charge for additional voter registration campaigns, and he picked the city of Selma as the battleground. Over the course of several months, the black community, inspired by the SNCC, SCLC, and CORE, registered to vote under extreme intimidation and violence. After the death of a black participant in Selma, the idea of a march from Selma to Montgomery was agreed upon. Ultimately, this march would shock the public to the racist violence that continued to persist in Alabama, but, almost as important, the march created divisions between the black activist groups. This division would be highlighted with the rise of the Black Panther Party in Lowndes County, and the Meredith March in 1966. Although in the past, black organizations had worked together towards a common goal, the stress of a lack of progress in the South caused fracture within the movement. At the conclusion of Freedom Summer, some SNCC members, including Bob Moses, John Lewis, And Fannie...
Words: 1983 - Pages: 8
...The 1960’s Diary Entries An African American participant in one of the Selma marches in 1965 And An American soldier fighting during the Tet Offensive 1968 Entries by: Ashley M. Johnson Journal Entre “Our March to Montgomery” Journal Entre- March 6, 1965: Tomorrow is the day we start our march to the State Capitol in Montgomery. Everyone has been directed to a group with an appointed group leader, to help guide us on our 54 mile journey. (According to History.com Staff (2010) I have to admit I am a little scared and excited all at the same time, many white people don’t want us to have the rights to vote and I wonder if we can make this journey safely. Journal Entre- March 7, 1965: This day started with much determination, excitement, fear, and courage. I found it a little settling to see that there were not just blacks lining up to march, but whites too. I then thought at that moment that we could actual accomplish the long journey we had ahead of us, as one. Over the next few hours when we approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, I saw the mist of my true fears come out. (Hagler-Geard (2015) White officials attempted to stop our march, most of us started to pray, although our attempts failed, we seem to have angered them more. Shots were fired, at first I thought they were shooting us, but after the clouds of heavy smoke filled my sight and lungs, I became disoriented and confused. (The Harris-Perry (2015) website) I was seeing brutal acts of violence all around...
Words: 1388 - Pages: 6
