By JENNIFER NGUYEN
(The author is an eighth grade student in Mr. Randy Turner's communication arts class at Joplin East Middle School.)
A
life started it all. Not a life
beginning, but a life ending, a life being taken away. It started a revolution. It started a revolution so big, that
the impact was made at a very great price. At least three lives were taken that year, the year of
1965. Many peaceful citizens were
arrested, beaten, and assaulted while marching on the pathway to equality, to
the city of Montgomery, Alabama.
Join this paper as it travels back to the year of 1965, when protestors
of all races and religions united together as one to make the long march from
Selma, Alabama to the capitol city of Montgomery as they fought for voting
rights among all.
The Beginning of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign
“Click.”
The bullet is released from the state trooper’s gun as it lands in the body of
twenty-six-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson.
His unconscious body falls to the ground, leaving his poor mother
unprotected from a trooper’s nightstick.
He is rushed to a nearby Selma hospital, but unfortunately, dies eight
days later. His life was one of
many that inspired protestors and civil rights activists to take action and put
a stop to the injustice being done in the nation of the “free” when he was shot
on the evening of February 18, 1965.
Jackson was an African American church deacon from the town of Marion,
Alabama, who decided to join in one of the public voting marches taking
place. There, he was shot. On the other side of the gun stood an
Alabama state trooper, trying to break up the march. On his side was a young man lying cold on the ground. This wasn’t the first violent action
displayed in the voting rights marches; it was one of many since the first
march that took place on February 1, 1965.
On
January 2, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
and Dallas County Voters League in their campaign for voting rights. After a number of unsuccessful attempts
from the SNCC, only two percent of the black population was on voting polls. The
SCLC had been planning a campaign since the earlier months of 1964 with a focus
on national attention when discovering that this attention could be gained
through protests. With the help of
Martin Luther King Jr. and David Abernathy from the SCLC, a march from the town
of Selma, Alabama, to the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama, was
organized. The committees chose
the town of Selma, because this town was known for hard-core, violent law
enforcement under the order of local county Sheriff Jim Clark. When the SCLC marched in Birmingham,
they learned that unprovoked violence would gain attention. Thus, this was their key. Hopefully, in the minds of the civil
rights workers, President Lyndon B. Johnson would see the cruelty being done
and consider making a new voting rights legislation. This, along with the reaction from the nation when seeing
the Alabama news coverage, would start a new era.
(Garrow 1-4)
Many
small marches were held in the month of January as the progression of the
campaign in Selma and Marion increased; many marchers were arrested, but there
was little violence for the first month of the campaign. It wasn’t until February that police
attacks against peaceful protestors increased and became very forceful. On February 1, 1965, the first march
from Selma to Montgomery was attempted with seven hundred seventy people being
arrested as the march was stopped by police officers. This was the very beginning of the revolution.
Bloody Sunday
March 7, 1965 marked a day in
history to be remembered for generations to come. On this day, hundreds of protesters both black and white
were attacked by Alabama state troopers and police. They were beaten, hit, and tortured with tear gas, a toxic
that causes people to vomit and become nauseating. This gruesome event became known as “Bloody Sunday,” because
indeed, it was quite bloody.
The
day started out like any normal day, with a clear blue sky and a few purple
clouds here and there. Only, it
wasn’t a normal day. On this day,
a march was to be held in honor of Jimmie Lee Jackson and to protest his death
during a voter registration drive held previously by the SNCC. The march was originally planned to be
led by Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. But, as it turned out, Dr. King could
not attend the march due to many missed church services and the need of a
sermon; he had also received many death threats and was convinced by his staff
not to come. At half past noon, two
hundred fifty marchers were already gathered around Brown’s Chapel, ready to
face any danger. They were being
taught by SCLC staffers a technique of kneeling and protecting their bodies if
ever attacked. King had sent a
messenger, Andy Young of the SCLC, to give word to co-leaders Hosea Williams,
James Bevel, and John Lewis that the march was to be delayed until the
following Monday. Seeing that the
march could not be stopped, a call was made to Dr. King and it was decided
young John Lewis, along with another co-leader, would lead the great march. Andy, Hosea, and Bevel flipped coins to
see who would join Lewis, and by fate, Hosea won. And so, the march was assembled. Many protestors had come straight from church and were still
wearing their Sunday outfits. The
Medical Committee for Human Rights had also traveled to Selma from New York to
prepare for any confrontation and injuries. Rumor had it that Sheriff Clark had issued a call for more
deputies the night before. Around
four in the afternoon, the marchers were gathered as John Lewis read a
statement for the benefit of the press and Andy Young said a small prayer as
everybody knelt. Next thing you
know, six hundred people set out to be “roughed up a little bit,” expecting
nothing worse than that…
(Lewis 323-325)
The
six hundred marchers, including a white SCLC staffer by the name of Al Lingo,
marched east out of Selma onto Highway U.S. Route 80. As they passed through the black sections of town, cheering
and singing could be heard from several onlookers and marchers, but as the
march branched out towards the river and down Walter Street, a silence was
flushed over the crowd as a feeling of holiness replaced the noisy excitement
possessed before. The march was
very disciplined; there was no pushing or shoving to get to the front. The protestors were organized in two
rows, with John Lewis and Hosea Williams at the front, Albert Turner and Bob
Mants behind them, Marie Foster and Amelia Boynton behind them, and a crowd of
people of all ages and races filed in the back.
(Lewis 325)
Actually, at the very back, four
ambulances followed along in case of any violation to the protestors. As the march neared the edge of the
Edmund Pettus Bridge, a group of armed white men could be seen gathered around
a nearby building. This was not a
surprise to the marchers, but quite a few other surprises were definitely
made. Clear across the other
side of the bridge was a swarm of uniformed Alabama state troopers. Among that swarm of cops was a group of
deputies that Sheriff Clark called his “posse.” Some were on horseback, while
others just stood, but they all had clubs that could very well be compared to
baseball bats. Camera crews and
news reporters form channels such as ABC were wedged in where there was space,
and cop cars were lined along the bridge; one of them holding Commander Al
Lingo and Sheriff Clark, himself.
The marchers continued silently onto the bridge, but they didn’t get
very far. About fifty feet away
from the swarm of troopers, Major John Cloud, another trooper, held a bullhorn
to his mouth as he spoke a message to the civil rights marchers. Apparently, they had two minutes to
disperse back to their church and homes.
If not, physical force would be used. At this time, several troopers slid masks onto their
faces. The marchers, not sure what
to do, stood there until Mr. Lewis proposed the idea that they should kneel and
pray, which is what they did. Less
than a minute after the warning, Major Cloud gave troopers the order to
advance. What happened next was
total chaos. Troopers came forward
swinging bullwhips, billy clubs, nightsticks, shooting guns and even spraying
tear gas. The effect of this was
almost immediate. The marchers had
no chance to retreat, and people began choking, coughing, vomiting, weeping,
and worse. Leader John Lewis was
swung against the left side of his head with a club, a young teen had a huge
flow of blood out the side of his head, and many women were lying on the nearby
grass, such as Ms. Amelia Boynton.
While this occurred, many protestors curled up in the “prayer for protection”
position, covering what they could.
Several white onlookers cheered, while the blacks kept quiet. The torture didn’t end until the mob of
marchers pushed to the front of the bridge and were chased all the way back to
Brown’s Chapel.
(Lewis 325- 329)
Turnaround Tuesday
On
Tuesday, March 9, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led a march, only to be turned
around. Thus, came its nickname,
“Turnaround Tuesday.” After what
had happened the previous Sunday, the civil rights activists decided to go to
court with their case and plea for armed forces to protect their marchers. The judge delayed his decision until
the next Thursday, and during this day, a march was held. The crowd of one thousand five
hundred marchers singing “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round” was met at the
Pettus Bridge by the same forces present on Bloody Sunday. When asked to turn around, the
diversely spread religious and racial contents of the march knelt down and
prayed. At the order of Dr. King,
they then got up, turned around, and marched back to Brown Chapel A.M.E.
Church. Dr. King’s reasoning for
ending the march was to protect his fellow protestors; he didn’t want further
violence. That night, after the
march had disassembled, three white ministers heading along the road were
attacked and beaten with iron pipes.
One of the three, Reverend James Reeb suffered a serious injury to the
head and later died in a hospital bed.
His death gained national attention and influenced President Lyndon B.
Johnson to introduce the Voting Rights Bill.
Forces
The
death of Reverend Reeb definitely gained national attention. After the incident, Governor Wallace,
the governor of Alabama, flew down to personally tell the president that he
didn’t have enough force to protect the civil right activists. The president took the matter into his
hands and ordered troops, marshals, National Guardsmen, and FBI agents down to
Selma for protection. He also made
a speech about the horrible occurrence of Bloody Sunday, but many skeptics
thought that it took a white minister’s death to get the president
involved. Others thought
otherwise. Nobody really knows.
Anticipation
hung in the air as everyone waited for the final decision to be made. Would the civil right leaders be
granted the forces they requested?
While some leaders were in the court room, others were outside in the
busy Washington traffic. They
stood linked by the arms and wouldn’t move until the police had to practically
carry and drag them out of the busy street of Pennsylvania Avenue. A huge mob of clergymen, activists, and
churchmen were all gathered outside the White House for a second time in two
days. This day marked the twelfth
of March. The huge mob totaled to about
four thousand people. They
demanded that the president reconsider voting rights and protection for the
people in Selma protesting.
(Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 1965)
Clergymen and civil right leaders
spent four hours talking to President Johnson about the situation in
Selma. Two of these hours were
focused on the officers that so roughly handled the peaceful marchers, while
the other two were based on legislation for black voting rights to stop the
current violence. The president
claimed that he took full responsibility for the cruel actions in Selma and
that he had prepared a message on voting rights for the Congress. The Justice Department was working on a
follow up bill.
(Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 1965)
All the while, seventy-five FBI
agents were present outside the White House to monitor the clergymen gathered
around the perimeter. Thirty-six
people had been arrested and were fined a fee of ten dollars for disorderly
conduct. Some paid the amount just
to rejoin the protest, while others simply refused. And more and more clergymen gathered around the Lutheran
Church of Reformation, two blocks from the Capitol, as buses brought more
people. The clergymen that
negotiated with Congress said that they sensed President Johnson seemed to be
feeling pressured.
(Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 1965)
And then, the decision was finally
clear. After seeing the taping of
Bloody Sunday and considering the constitutional rights, Federal Court Judge
Johnson decided to side with the protestors and their case. “These rights may be exercised by
marching, even along public highways,” he said. And with that, he ordered the government not to interfere
with the march organized to take place starting March 21, 1965. That night, Dr. King sent a telegram
around the country asking ministers of all faiths to come to Selma for the
march. The protest for voting
rights would indeed take place.
The Final March
A
crowd. Gathered around Brown’s
Chapel was a crowd of nearly three thousand two hundred citizens of the U.S.
nation. These people of diverse
race and religion banded together for the big march aiming to take place that
day. This crowd held a combination
of people, from ministers, to leaders, to common townspeople. Big celebrities like Harry Belafonte
and Ralph Bunche even joined in on the activity.
On Sunday, March 21, 1965, three
thousand two hundred marchers started walking towards the capitol once
more. This time they were
successful. The civil rights activists
traveled twelve miles a day by foot and slept in fields at night. After traveling seven miles from Selma
the first day, though, only three hundred select marchers were allowed to walk
along Highway 80. The other two
thousand were taken back to Selma by trains, cars, and buses of transportation. This time, the march was also given
security. Twelve planes and
helicopters flew over the protestors to restrain any sudden violence done to
the peaceful marchers.
By the time they reached
Montgomery, on Thursday, March 25, 1965, the crowd led by Martin Luther King
had increased from three hundred people to twenty-five thousand people. It was a truly unbelievable sight. They tried to deliver their petition to
the governor, but he wouldn’t accept it; they weren’t even allowed on the
Capitol Building’s steps! During
this time, Martin Luther King gave one of his speeches, thought to also be one
of his most powerful, about the horrible treatment and injustice done to the
black people of Alabama. By six in
the evening, the marchers were taken back to Selma by different means of
transportation. They were advised
to leave the city before dark. As
a young woman by the name of Viola Liuzzo traveled home that night from the
march, she and a young colored man she was taking home were both attacked. In the end, she was killed by the Ku
Klux Klan, while the other passenger was brutally injured. This was another sad death taken
for the righteous cause.
The Signing of the Voting Rights Act
On
August 6, 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, a law stating
that states couldn’t restrict any type of people from voting, whether they be
judged by race, religion, etc. It
empowered the national government to enroll the citizens, previously denied, on
the voting list. That very same
day that the president passed the bill, three hundred black voters were
registered in Sumter County, Georgia after a two week black opposing drive was
dropped. The race had finally been
completed. The battle had been
won. And, indeed, our nation had
overcome.
(Garrow xi)
Bibliography
Books
Garrow, David.
Protest at Selma. New
Haven, Connecticut: Yale University, 1978.
Lewis, John.
Walking With the Wind. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.
Internet Sources
