The Selma to Montgomery March Imagine not being able to vote, to choose your own government officials, to serve on juries, or to choose the kind of country you lived in. During the Selma march of 1965, they were marching so that African Americans would be able to vote and to make these choices. The Selma to Montgomery March was important in the Civil Rights Movement because of the events that led up to it, the march itself, and because it helped pass the Voting Rights Act. The events that led up to the Selma March were almost as important as the march itself. The murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson was the one of the main events that led up to the march. Jimmie Lee Jackson was a 26 year old black man who was participating in a peaceful protest for voting rights in Marion, Alabama. (Guinier, 83). The protest was being held at night outside a local courthouse, when the streetlights went out and state troopers attacked the protesters. Jimmie Lee Jackson, his grandfather, Cager Lee, and his mother, Viola were all participating. They were chased into Mack’s Cafe, and a state trooper started beating Viola and Cager. When Jimmie tried to protect them, he was shot …show more content…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not at the march, so two other civil rights leaders, Hosea Williams and John Lewis, were leading the march. The marchers were just coming over the Edmund Pettus Bridge when they were met with Alabama State troopers, police, and angry white citizens. When the marchers got to the end of the bridge, the trooper in charge told them that they had 2 minutes to go back to their homes or church. The marchers knelt in prayer, and without waiting, the police attacked. The police attacked with billy clubs, tear gas, electric cattle prods and mounted deputies with whips. (Guinier, pg 83-84) The fact that Bloody Sunday was broadcasted to the whole country helped the event get attention, and later helped the VRA get