Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

On March 7, 1965, approximately 600 non-violent protesters in Selma, Alabama departed from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church with the intent of marching 54 miles to Montgomery to demonstrate for voter's rights and against police brutality. As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were attacked by State Troopers and volunteer officers of the local sheriff's department. The attack caused outrage around the country and became known as "Bloody Sunday". Two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a second march which again had its path blocked by Law Enforcement Officers. This time they decided to turn back and not risk a violent confrontation. 

After a struggle in the courts, the protesters received an injunction for a third march. On March 21 the official Selma to Montgomery March began with the final number of supports reaching near 25,000 people. Five months later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in voting practices or procedures because of race and color. Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail includes an Interpretive Center and informational sites along the 54 mile route.