March On Selma Research Paper

567 Words3 Pages
Throughout all of American history, African Americans faced vast amounts of racism and unfairness. From slavery, to citizenship, they struggled through black codes and eventually the voting rights act of 1965. Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin(, African Americans were forbidden from voting in southern states such as Alabama, The march on Selma was one of the many factors that had an impact on getting justice for black Americans. The march on Selma was an event put together by civil rights activists who were discontent with southern states forbidding black Americans from voting. With the help of the SCLC, Martin Luther King Jr. decided to make Selma, located in Dallas County, Alabama, the focus of a voter registration campaign(History. com staff). They held protests and a march to bring attention to the matter. Those protests and the march on Selma were a turning point because they opened up the door for whites to socially accept African Americans and helped cause changes to voting laws for blacks.…show more content…
Clark who used his police force to intimidate blacks who tried to register to vote. The police force in Alabama would force African Americans to take literacy tests before letting them register to vote. Although Martin Luther King Jr’s entire focus was not only on voting, they believed that gaining the vote would open the door to other reforms in the local communities. During one of these protests In February 1965, a mob of state troopers assaulted a group of peaceful protesters, shooting and killing a young man, Jimmie Lee Jackson. The death of Jimmie Lee Jackson infuriated the community and people such as Martin Luther king and other black leaders in Dallas County began to organize the March on Selma. A march that impacted the civil rights history
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