On December 28, 2964 Martin Luther King J presented “Project for an Alabama Political Freedom Movement.” (History.com 2010). This plan was a call for a mass action for voter registration in Selma. The start of this campaign was when 700 African Americans show up at the Brown Chapel in Selma. The first march of Selma happened on January 6-18, 1965, when King and Lewis led 300 African Americans out of Brown Chapel to the court house (History.com 2010). The Selma police allowed them to walk in small groups to try and register. The end result of this first march was that none get to register but everything was peaceful and no violence happened (History.com 2010). In early 1965, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference
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He sent 1,000 Military policemen and 2,000 Army troops to help protect them. So finally on March 21, 1965 around 8,000 people assembled at Brown chapel in Selma to start the 5 day march to the capital in Montgomery (History.com 2010). Once the march got to Montgomery 25,000 demonstrators joined the marchers at the capital and King gave his famous “How long, Not Long” speech. Dr. King said, "The end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. ... I know you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long." (Selma to Montgomery …show more content…
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided direct federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other devices that had been used to disenfranchise African Americans. It authorized the appointment of federal registrars to register voters and observe elections. It also prevented states from changing voter requirements and gerrymandering districts for a period of five years without federal review (Gary, 2013). The poll tax, a point of dispute, was fully banned in 1966. The percentage of black adults registered to vote in the South increased from thirty-five percent in 1964 to almost sixty-five percent by 1969 (Gary,
He sent 1,000 Military policemen and 2,000 Army troops to help protect them. So finally on March 21, 1965 around 8,000 people assembled at Brown chapel in Selma to start the 5 day march to the capital in Montgomery (History.com 2010). Once the march got to Montgomery 25,000 demonstrators joined the marchers at the capital and King gave his famous “How long, Not Long” speech. Dr. King said, "The end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. ... I know you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long." (Selma to Montgomery …show more content…
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided direct federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other devices that had been used to disenfranchise African Americans. It authorized the appointment of federal registrars to register voters and observe elections. It also prevented states from changing voter requirements and gerrymandering districts for a period of five years without federal review (Gary, 2013). The poll tax, a point of dispute, was fully banned in 1966. The percentage of black adults registered to vote in the South increased from thirty-five percent in 1964 to almost sixty-five percent by 1969 (Gary,