Where? -Selma

When? -1965

Selma, is a city in Alabama where there was confrontation due to the fact that blacks made up half of the city's population but comprised only 1% of voters. Efforts to increase this percentage had failed and African Americans were still feeling intimidated by whites.

The protest began when young black Americans tried to enter the courthouse to register to vote and were physically stopped by the police. Blacks remained singing and peacefully protesting outside of the Dallas County corthouse in Selma.

Goals- for blacks to gain voting rights; demand legal reform and prevent abuse inflicted on blacks in Selma and elsewhere.

Leaders- SNCC, SCLC, Martin Luther King.

Summary- the protest continued with marchers sing and praying in the streets of Selma on a daily basis. Their desire was to plead with local blacks to register to vote. The protest quickly spread to other communities and eventually MLK sought out other civil rights activist to volunteer to escort the protesters on a 54 mil march to Montgomery, Alabama- the state capitol.

Consequences- within weeks 2000 marchers including MLK were arrested.

Successful?

-YES! Congress passed the voting Rights Act of 1965 which outlawed literary testss and allowed blacks to register to vote in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia.