Selma Alabama March

Historians offer different perceptions of the significance of Martin Luther King and the 1963 March on Washington. Without examining this event within its historical context the media publicity and iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech can easily overshadow progress that was already underway in America. It was insisted by prominent civil rights activist Ella Baker, ‘the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.’ What is important not to overlook is the significant change that took place in the United States during the previous 100 years. Such that, many influential figures in support of racial equality opposed the March. The Civil Rights Act proposed by President Kennedy in 1963 was already in the legislative process.

The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

In 1960, King and his family moved to Atlanta, where he became a co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptism church. In 1963, activists did boycotts, sit-ins, and marches to protest segregation, unfair hiring practices and their injustices in one of America’s racially divided cities. On April 12, 1963, King wrote the civil rights manifesto, known as “Letters from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of civil disobedience addressed to a group of white clergymen who criticized his tactics. Later that year, King worked on a number of civil rights and religious groups to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This was a peaceful political rally designed to shed light on the injustices African Americans continued to face across the country. The event was held on August 28, and attended by 250,000 participants. This event was a moment in the history of the American civil rights movement and a factor in the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 King’s most famous address “I Have A Dream”

As an African American growing up in a multi-generational household I appreciated the stories my grandparents told me about the Civil Rights Movement through their eyes. They acknowledged that Martin Luther King was not just for people of color; but all human beings who were being treated unjustly. He is known for many speeches, but The Letter from a Birmingham Jail” written in 1963 was phenomenal in my opinion; this letter, written in response to “A Call for Unity,”(Carpenter et. el, 1963 ) an article written by eight, white, Alabama clergymen, was to serve as a response to those who believed that King acted inappropriately for coming to Birmingham, Alabama, as an outsider, for creating immense tension with his demonstrations, and for the inopportune timing of his marches. Even though, the clergymen agreed that social injustice did exist, it was their opinion that these types of matter should be handled in the judicial system rather than in the streets.

March 7, 1965 about 600 people arrived in downtown Selma, Alabama to walk in the famous march known as Bloody Sunday. The civil rights leaders organized this march because of the blocking of black peoples’ votes. This march wanted to call attention and stress the denial of black’s constitutional right to vote. There were many places that blacks were not allowed to vote, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Dallas, all places that black people had the highest percentage of the population. Before the march, doctors were telling the protesters how to react when there is violence. The protesters were aware that there could be tear gas, clubs, cattle prods, bombs, snipers and even more. Because of the recent death threats, Dr. King was not

President Johnson, who had intimate access to King, and as the film depicted, was weary in proposing a controversial. After spending a large amount of political capital on a Civil Rights Bill and a large tax reduction, Johnson wanted King to wait until it was politically appropriate for the president. Johnson argued that stirring controversy would perpetuate the issue and embarrass the administration in the process. King argued, however, that people of color were tired of waiting. In King’s, Letters from Birmingham Jail, he discusses the calls of other’s who tell him to “wait.” He argues “this ‘wait’ has almost always meant ‘never’” King goes on to say the black community has “waited for more than 340 years for [their] constitutional and God given rights.” MLK was determined to make a point in Selma, and create enough “tension,” to cause action. Determined to get his point across, and intent of garnering world wide attention, King gained support of clergy members, black and white allies from across the country. The first attempt at the march was unsuccessful; nearly 2,000 marchers were turned around by King at the Edmung Pettus bridge because King did not want to violate a judges orders. That night, a white clergyman, James Reeb, who supported the march was beaten and killed. Finally, after a federal court order to let the march proceed was granted,

The brutality from this event can be summarized by one marcher who was reported saying, “My God, we’re being killed.” This malevolent act sent the entire nation in an uproar, sparking riots in major US cites and even in Toronto. The protests and riots gained so much popular support as to gain the attention of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who declared that he “deplored the brutality.” King was also determined to march from Selma to Montgomery in order to present the governor with the proposal for voting rights and to continue fighting the oppression (“Central Point” 24).

is considered the most influential leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was a very tenacious man with beliefs rooted in equality. Therefore, it is no surprise that he was less than pleased with the Christian church and its reaction to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. For despite his best efforts, it still proved increasingly more difficult for him to reach most white churches. He struggled to get through to the white churches and make it clear that even colored people are loved by God. This caused a great deal of strife between the clergymen of white churches and King. Furthermore, even members of his own church were disappointed with his timing and actions in Birmingham that led to his arrest. However, King persistently noted that he was not confined by what was legal, but by what was right. His worldview was shaped by the idea that, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” as he stated in this letter. It is for this reason that he felt such an immediate need to act on the intense discrimination happening in Birmingham, though it went against many of his fellow clergymen’s best advice. For he saw his role in the situation to be vital as he saw himself as the leader for the correction of these

“There never was a moment in American history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger at the side of its embattled Negroes ”… These words said by Martin Luther King Jr. marked a new dawn for African Americans and their right to freedom as citizens of the United States. The march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama brought equality to blacks and changed the course of American history.

The Selma marches have had an immense impact on United States history. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. Even after its passing, many southern states were still segregated and nothing really changed. The Selma marches were three marches that protested the state of Alabama for its discrimination against African Americans. The state of Alabama made it hard for African Americans to register to vote and even the few who were registered had a hard time voting.

Dr. Martin Luther King as we all know was a man of great knowledge, wisdom, and a man with a big heart who wanted to undo the injustice that was segregation. He led several peaceful protests and spoke to thousands of people about what our rights were and gave hope of freedom to African Americans in a time where African Americans didn’t feel that there was much hope. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King addresses several clergymen who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. Throughout the letter he defends his right to protest in Birmingham and provides a moral reason for his presence. Throughout the letter he also showed his knowledge by making

King due to the safety of his people. On March 15, 1965, President Johnson invited both Dr. King and John Lewis to listen to speech related to events on Bloody Sunday and vowed to act with Congress to design a law to eliminate illegal barriers to the right to vote. Later that week, the federal judge officially issued a ruling on the right to march and granted Dr. King the right to lead a march from Selma to Montgomery with the protection of federal State Troopers. Immediately, Dr. King set a new march date: March 21, 1965 which was huge success. Incidentally, President Johnson introduced the voting rights bill into Congress same day. Incidentally, few weeks before President Johnson introduced the voting rights bill, a prominent black activist, Malcom X spoke at rally in Selma telling blacks that many of his black activists and civil rights leaders would not agree with him in taking a radical approach to remove racial inequality and injustices since he saw no progress in moral suasion. Later, Malcolm X was interviewed about his speech about taking radical approach in Selma but his response was that his speech was to send a message to both government and police of Selma that blacks can respond with force if

So in the process he went on television and stated religious leaders to come Tuesday for their march to Montgomery. This would begin two days after the first march to Montgomery. He made his remark when he occurred in Atlanta. John Lewis was furies at the president Johnson saying “how can you send troops to directly protect America but not to protect marchers to Montgomery?” Now two days later the march had begun and over 2,000 people came to the event. Before that king was told to hold the event tell the 11 of march so that they could have federal protection. President Johnson actually spent time to support the marchers, that means he listened to john Lewis now it was up to king to decide whether to wait to the eleventh that would be another two days. Or arrange the march on the ninth. It was down to the king; he decides with his colleagues that the march will be hold later in the

Lyndon Johnson wrote the The Voting Rights Act to aid African Americans in voting rights as “the act’s purpose was to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment” (Davidson 43). It did so by having legislation that heavily enforced what states could not do in relation to voting, which was primarily having obstacles to voting rights. These obstacles included those found in the Jim Crow Laws such as literacy tests. Furthermore, the act had to be passed after the march as before the march there was not enough national attention to drive to nation to change their thoughts on the situation. However, the march demonstrated counter-hegemony as people were shown the injustices which led to shift from supporting or being indifferent to racial ideologies to the realization of what was being done was wrong and supporting better voting rights. Thus, the outcome of the march was just as it led to a large improvement in voting rights at the expense of injustices done that led to the march. The results of the act showed justice as the legislation lowered the voting gap between races showing more equality as African Americans were ensured voting

Martin Luther King Jr. knew of the constant racism and cruelty in Birmingham, Alabama and decided to lead a march in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, treasurer of the SCLC, led a group of fifty marchers toward city hall in Birmingham (Boerst, 12). Martin Luther King Jr. and the protestors wanted to stand up