Produced by Equal Justice Initiative
A 25-year-old John Lewis led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, attempting to reach Montomery on March 7, 1965, which came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” On that day, the peaceful civil rights activists—who were determined to journey 52-miles to the Alabama state capitol in support of Black voting rights—were met with violent attacks at the hands of state troopers. It wouldn’t be until March 25, 1965 that the marchers would safely make it to the capitol. The Selma to Montgomery marches led to the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act in August 1965.
This video is presented as part of Montgomery Square, an extension of EJI’s Legacy Sites in Montgomery Alabama. This space is dedicated to the Montgomery decade that changed the world. From 1955 to 1965, Black residents with extraordinary courage and determination stood up against racial injustice here in Montgomery and sparked a movement that transformed our country and the world.
Learn more: montgomerysquare.eji.org
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