In 1965, King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) decided to make the small town of Selma the focus of their drive to win voting rights for African Americans in the South .
Why did they choose to hold the march on Selma quizlet?
Why did the march happen? Because, even after the Civil Rights Act in 1964, efforts by the SCLC and the SNCC to register black voters were met with resistance in the South . ... Because the governor, George Wallace, had led an open opposition to black voter registration.
Why did Selma march happen?
Fifty years ago, on March 7, 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery. They marched to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote — even in the face of a segregationist system that wanted to make it impossible.
What was the purpose of Selma?
In the fight to secure voting rights for African Americans and other minorities across the country, the march was meant to be a peaceful representation of the outrage many felt in their fight to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of voting.
What happened at the Selma march quizlet?
protesters attempting to march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery were met with violent resistance by state and local authorities. helped raise awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters in the South, and the need for a Voting Rights Act, passed later that year.
What was the purpose of the Selma march quizlet?
What was the purpose of the march? To protest against the voting rights .
Did anyone died at Selma?
On February 26, 1965, activist and deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson died after being shot several days earlier by state trooper James Bonard Fowler, during a peaceful march in nearby Marion, Alabama.
How did Selma lead to government action?
On March 17, 1965, even as the Selma-to-Montgomery marchers fought for the right to carry out their protest, President Lyndon Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress, calling for federal voting rights legislation to protect African Americans from barriers that prevented them from voting .
How long was the walk from Selma to Montgomery?
On 25 March 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after a 5-day, 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC ...
What happened at the end of Selma?
Sheriff Jim Clark was defeated by an overwhelming black vote and was never sheriff again. Viola Liuzzo was murdered by a Klansman hours after the march while trying to escort marchers back to Selma. Coretta Scott King established The King Center and successfully lobbied for a holiday in her husband’s honor.
What happened after Bloody Sunday?
What was the immediate response? The shootings led to widespread anger in Derry and further afield. The British Embassy in Dublin was burned to the ground by an angry crowd. The day after Bloody Sunday the government announced there would be an inquiry led by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery.
What percent of Selma was black quizlet?
Selma, Alabama had a population of 29 000, 50% of whom were black but the town only had 350 registered black voters. Because of this Selma was chosen for a voter-registration campaign. When the towns blacks went to the selma courthouse to enrol, a weakness of the 1964 civil rights bill emerged.
Who led the march from Selma to Montgomery that became known as Bloody Sunday quizlet?
Person that led Bloody Sunday: The march was led by John Lewis of SNCC and followed by Bob Mants.
What did the Kerner Commission blamed the problems of inner cities on?
The report identified more than 150 riots or major disorders between 1965 and 1968 (including the deadly Newark and Detroit riots) and blamed “ white racism” for sparking the violence—not a conspiracy by African American political groups as some claimed.
Why was Bloody Sunday Selma important?
As many as 25,000 people participated in the roughly 50-mile (80-km) march. Together, these events became a landmark in the American civil rights movement and directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 .
What is the purpose of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War , including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.
