Selma+Campaign

**The Selma Campaign** **, 1965 **
//the decisive movement for black voting rights//

The Selma Campaign consisted of three marches from Selma to Montgomery by civil rights activists, and occurred as a result of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, inniated by local blacks who formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL). Bevel called the march in order to focus the anger and pain of the people of Selma, some of whom wanted to address Jackson's death with violence, towards a nonviolent goal. The location of Selma was chosen because even though blacks outnumbered whites in the city, only a few hundred were acutally registered voters.The marchers also hoped to bring attention to the violations of their rights by marching to Montgomery. Dr. King agreed with Bevel's plan, and asked for a march from Selma to Montgomery to ask Governor Wallace to protect black registrants. Wallace denounced the march as a threat to public safety and declared he would take all measures necessary to prevent this from happening. The first march in the series occurred on March 7, 1965, where a group of 600 marchers were violently assulted by police, who were armed with 'billy clubs' and tear gas. This march did not reach the planned destination (Montgomery), and is often refered to as 'Bloody Sunday'. Parts of the event were televised, and the scenes of violence encouraged further empathy and support for the movement. The second march took place on March 9th and was also unsuccessful in reaching its destination. The third march began on March 21 and went on for five days. This march was much larger than the previous two as support had grown for the movement and people had travelled across the country to support it. When the mob of 20,000 arrived in Montgomery, they were adressed by MLK on the steps in front of the capital building.

The march in Selma had an important impact on the civil rights movement as it generated support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was passed by President Lyndon Johnson in August of that year. The Selma Campaign prompted legislation to come in place for voting in the United States. After watching a television broadcast of 'Bloody Sunday', president Lyndon Johnson met with governor George Wallace to discuss the civil rights situation in the state. He urged Wallace to stop the harrassment of protests in his state, and two days later presented a bill to Congress, which would soon then pass and become the Voting Rights Act.

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