Today in 1965, congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis helped lead the first attempted Selma to Montgomery March, where approximately 600 activists set out to march for voting rights. However, they were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge after traveling just six blocks. There, while the nation was watching, they were beat and attacked by police officers and locals; forcing them back into Selma and making it what we now know as “Bloody Sunday.” Despite the demonstrators being subjected to an unprovoked attack by state troopers, two marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. followed. The second was a symbolic march to show resilience and commitment, and the third and final march, thousands of demonstrators finally reached the steps of the Alabama State Capitol. Read John Lewis’ powerful reflection on the first march that helped pave the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
52 yrs ago today, we set out to march from Selma to Montgomery to dramatize to the nation that people of color were denied the right to vote
advertisement— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
Before we left a little church called Brown Chapel AME, we knelt and prayed together. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/RB3fh6T4U2
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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About 600 of us left Brown Chapel to march in a peaceful, orderly, nonviolent fashion. #Selma52
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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At the apex of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, high above the Alabama River, Hosea Williams asked if I could swim. I said no. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/SEfCIelZzX
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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Down below, we saw a sea of blue… #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/PVqibCW9DU
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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Alabama State Troopers putting on their gas masks. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/tpBjMl3Sit
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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When we came within hearing distance, a trooper identified himself and said, “I’m Major John Cloud of the Alabama State Troopers.” #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/WwXgMrUGNy
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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Major Cloud said, “This is an unlawful march. It will not be allowed to continue.” #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/RvYa5oXf3J
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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“I’ll give you three minutes to disperse and return to your homes or to your church.” #Selma52
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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The Major paused for a minute and then he said, “Troopers advance!” pic.twitter.com/RuDrxk0ryH
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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They came toward us beating us with nightsticks, bullwhips, trampling us with horses, releasing the teargas. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/v4AugbKK63
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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I was hit in the head by a State Trooper with a nightstick. I thought I saw death. I thought I was going to die. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/jrIEF3cHqi
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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I had a concussion there at the bridge, and I’ve never been able to recall how any of us made it back alive. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/642AAKRpOb
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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My skull fractured, I spent 3 days in Good Samaritan Hospital, the same hospital where Jimmie Lee Jackson had died. #Selma52 pic.twitter.com/TjsvVSr244
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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Our march continues. There is great work still to be done. Dedicate yourself to nonviolent social change, and we shall overcome. #Selma52
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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There is no sound more powerful than the marching feet of a determined people. #Selma52 #GoodTrouble pic.twitter.com/7nrjSzaHvR
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2017
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