Selma, Alabama: Where the Voting Rights Movement Crossed a Bridge
Few American cities carry as much civil rights weight as Selma. On March 7, 1965, state troopers and county possemen attacked peaceful marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in an event broadcast on national television and quickly named Bloody Sunday. The marchers, led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams, were attempting to walk from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights for Black citizens. The violence shocked the nation and directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Selma today is a city of roughly 19,500 people and serves as the county seat of Dallas County. The bridge still stands and is now a National Historic Landmark. The National Voting Rights Museum sits at its foot, and an annual commemoration each March draws visitors and politicians from across the country. The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail follows the 54-mile route the marchers eventually completed under federal protection.
Economically, Selma faces significant challenges. The loss of manufacturing jobs, persistent poverty, and population decline have strained the city's resources. Median household income falls well below state and national averages. Revitalization efforts have focused on heritage tourism and the downtown historic district, which contains an impressive collection of antebellum and Victorian architecture that survived the Civil War largely intact.
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Few American cities carry as much civil rights weight as Selma. On March 7, 1965, state troopers and county possemen attacked peaceful marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in an event broadcast on national television and quickly named Bloody Sunday. The marchers, led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams, were attempting to walk from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights for Black citizens. The violence shocked the nation and directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Selma today is a city of roughly 19,500 people and serves as the county seat of Dallas County. The bridge still stands and is now a National Historic Landmark. The National Voting Rights Museum sits at its foot, and an annual commemoration each March draws visitors and politicians from across the country. The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail follows the 54-mile route the marchers eventually completed under federal protection.
Economically, Selma faces significant challenges. The loss of manufacturing jobs, persistent poverty, and population decline have strained the city's resources. Median household income falls well below state and national averages. Revitalization efforts have focused on heritage tourism and the downtown historic district, which contains an impressive collection of antebellum and Victorian architecture that survived the Civil War largely intact.
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