The Death That Changed Voting On the night of February 18, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jackson was accompanied by two of his family members, Viola Jackson, his mother and Cager Lee, his paternal grandfather. They attended Zion’s Chapel Methodist Church in Marion, a town in Alabama, for a peaceful voting rights march. State Trooper James Bonard Fowler shot Jackson twice in the abdomen. The death of Jimmie Lee Jackson impacted the lives of many blacks and changed voting rights. Jimmie Lee Jackson was born on December 16, 1938 (#6 “Jimmie Lee Jackson”/Bio.com) in Marion, Alabama (#5 Jackson, Jimmie Lee (1938-1965)). Growing up, he was a farmer and a woodcutter, but he also lived in poverty (#7 Jimmie Lee Jackson, Clarence Spigner, University of Washington). He was a former soldier and the youngest deacon in his church (#5Jackson, Jimmie Lee (1938-1965) ). Jackson became a part of the Civil Rights Movement as a young man ( “Jimmie Lee Jackson”/ Bio.com). …show more content…
The U.S. Department of Justice, considers this Act to be the most important federal civil rights legislation ever created in the country. In 2010, 45 years after Jackson’s death Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler was indicted and plead guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter and served six months in prison. Overall, when Jimmie Lee Jackson died the lives of many blacks and voting rights were impacted. Jackson became a part of the Civil Rights Movement as a young man. On the night of his death he was accompanied by two of his family members, when he was shot by State trooper on February 18th, 1965. His death inspired many to join the march from Selma to Montgomery in his honor. After being stopped by state troopers in the first march, Martin Luther King, Jr. called for a second march with federal protection. Finally the Federal Voting Rights Act was passed on August 6th, 1965. To this day, the march remains an important piece of