There have been many pivotal events to occur throughout Alabama’s history, and this of course includes the Civil Rights Movement. The goal of the Civil Rights Movement was for racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans to end. Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. were just a few of the prominent figures during this time in history. One of the most significant events during the Civil Rights Movement was known as “Bloody Sunday.”
wikipedia Bloody Sunday took place in Selma, Alabama on Sunday, March 7, 1965.
wikimedia commons/Abernathy Family Photos People of all ages came out to participate in this historic march.
flickr/Penn State Special Collections To begin the Selma to Montgomery march, approximately 600 voting rights marchers attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which is now a civil rights landmark.
youtube/C Robs Once the marchers reached the opposite end of the bridge, a group of state troopers, on foot and horseback, brutally attacked many of them with whips, clubs and rubber tubes that had been covered with barb wire.
youtube/C Robs The state troopers then released tear gas within the crowds of marchers, leaving many of them terrified.
youtube/C Robs The entire Bloody Sunday attack was captured on film, and after it aired, viewers all over the U.S. were outraged.
wikimedia commons/Jim Bowen On March 21, 1965, the marchers left Selma. After marching for four days, they finally reached the Alabama State Capitol’s steps.
wikimedia commons/Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum In the end, the marchers achieved what they had set out to do. Lyndon B. Johnson signed the “Voting Rights Act” into law on August 6, 1965, which gave African Americans the right to vote.
For a closer look at “Bloody Sunday” and the “Selma March to Montgomery,” have a look at the video below.
wikipedia
Bloody Sunday took place in Selma, Alabama on Sunday, March 7, 1965.
wikimedia commons/Abernathy Family Photos
People of all ages came out to participate in this historic march.
flickr/Penn State Special Collections
To begin the Selma to Montgomery march, approximately 600 voting rights marchers attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which is now a civil rights landmark.
youtube/C Robs
Once the marchers reached the opposite end of the bridge, a group of state troopers, on foot and horseback, brutally attacked many of them with whips, clubs and rubber tubes that had been covered with barb wire.
The state troopers then released tear gas within the crowds of marchers, leaving many of them terrified.
The entire Bloody Sunday attack was captured on film, and after it aired, viewers all over the U.S. were outraged.
wikimedia commons/Jim Bowen
On March 21, 1965, the marchers left Selma. After marching for four days, they finally reached the Alabama State Capitol’s steps.
wikimedia commons/Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
In the end, the marchers achieved what they had set out to do. Lyndon B. Johnson signed the “Voting Rights Act” into law on August 6, 1965, which gave African Americans the right to vote.
As you can see, “Bloody Sunday” was a historic event like no other, and it will never be forgotten. For more historic images that were captured in Alabama during the 1960s, click here.
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