On March 7, 1965, close to 600 civil rights marchers, led by John Lewis, began a march from Selma, Alabama to the capital city, Montgomery. In addition to demanding full voting rights for blacks from then-Governor George Wallace, they marched to raise awareness of the violent attacks and Constitutional rights violations targeting black communities. The governor had previously deemed the march a threat to public safety and ordered the Alabama Highway Patrol to prevent it at any cost. As the marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge that day, they were met by a mass of state troopers and deputized county residents who told the demonstrators to go home. Moments later, the troopers began knocking demonstrators to the ground, beating them with nightsticks, and firing tear gas at them.
Amelia Boynton, a former teacher, who helped organize and participate in the march, was beaten unconscious and left for dead. This photograph of her on the bridge appeared in newspapers and magazines worldwide and inspired support for the Selma Voting Rights Campaign. That day, which would soon become known as “Bloody Sunday,” left 17 marchers hospitalized and 50 others injured. The march to Montgomery, was ultimately completed March 21-24, with nearly 8,000 marchers, guarded by federal law enforcement. Boynton, who recovered and lived to march in the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday hand in hand with President Barack Obama, was one of the first African Americans registered to vote in Alabama.
