Civil Rights Marchers In The Selma March

In 1987, PBS started airing a fourteen-hour documentary series on the civil rights movement called Eye on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement. The purpose of this series was to inform the public about the civil rights movement from 1954 -1985. In episode six, “The Bridge to Freedom” the series turns it focus onto Selma, Alabama right before the death of Lee Jackson. The documentary which is based on primary sources including both images and interviews of SLCC leaders, SNCC leaders, personal friends of Martin Luther King Jr., supporters of segregation, and television reporters give a broad over view of the events in Selma from a plethora of perspectives.

After analizing photojournalist James Karales iconic photograph of the march Selma to Montgomery for voting rights and reading background material on it, and considering what the marchers might have thought and felt, I will give you my outlook on the matter. James Karales to who was born in Canton Ohio and earned his degree in fine arts from Ohio University recorded the march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama in 1965 where thousands of protesters walked a 54-mile march. The photograph he took captured a historical point during the civil rights movement. After researching information on this subject matter during the march from Montgomery to Selma many folks had died including a white minister from up north to whom was there to support the voting rights for black people. The march was very violent but those who marched did not give up.

This book represents those who were discriminated against based on their race and who were put down based on the color of their skin. This fight against discrimination had been happening for many years and thousands of individuals were tired of getting treated differently. The march on Washington was a peaceful protest where more than 250,000 people joined to have their voices heard as stated by Evans. The goal of this march was to create changes within the minority community. Where African Americans in specific had equal-paying jobs, where they would be able to have access to the same places and things as other Americans.

Paula T. Maury a Professor of Sociology at Siena College has a specialization in race relations and research methods. His article, “ The Most Righteous White Man in Selma: Father Maurice Ouellet and the Struggle for Voting Rights,” focuses on the affects of Southern Catholics on the civil rights movement. Maury’s supports his thesis thought the study of primary documents relating to Maurice Ouellet life and actions during the march from Selma. He believes that through the study of Ouellet’s life historians can understand the importance of the civil rights movement on the Southern catholic minority.

The March trilogy, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, walks us through the life of John Lewis. Mr. Lewis is a very dedicated man who committed much of his life to protecting equality and human rights within the United States. Some might say that without his influence, we might not have desegregated the south yet. From his childhood to this day, John continues to show kindness and love for all. Books 1 and 2 of March show a tremendous number of great examples of courage and leadership but there were three specific events that were the most impactful.

“Selma to Montgomery”, a report written by Chuck Stone in the February of 2000, is about African Americans marching together to Montgomery to fight for their equal rights. Even after the freedom summer in 1964, blacks remained unable to vote, but it wasn’t very long until a new project took action. A march across highway 80 from Selma, Dallas to Montgomery was the plan. It took a great deal of courage and determination for them to go through with it, especially since the people of the white race caught them and forced them to halt multiple times, making them end their march. Alabama state troopers confronted the people of colour at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, during their first attempt to march “The troopers began to push them back; marchers

The students of Nashville College believed that King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” provided them justification for conducting sit-ins, and boycotts of public areas. King’s letter discussed that in order for negotiations to be made people must first create “tens[ion] and force people “to confront the issue”(2). This idea of tension shows that public demonstrations are the only way that leads to negotiation on Civil Rights. Therefore, King’s letter insinuated that for there to be change, people must do protests like sit-ins. Another way King’s letter gave premise for the students protesting was because he states that “freedom is never voluntarily given” however, “must be demanded by the oppressed.

Throughout the history of the United States, there has been a constant backdrop of oppression for minority groups. Perhaps, its most vivid moment of clarity occurred in the early 20th century when blacks and other people of color staged a movement, most commonly known as the “Civil Rights Movement”. In this movement, many events ultimately caused its success. The Selma to Montgomery March that occurred in March of 1965 provided an impetus for many blacks during that time and to this day. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the political effects of the Selma to Montgomery March on the Black Belt area of Alabama in comparison with the political effects felt by the nation overall.

I remember that day in Selma, Alabama. I was 12 years old. I watched my parents get beaten with night sticks, and strawn out on the ground, laying there being trampled. Equal rights was all we wanted, all we have ever wanted, so we all took a stand.

On March 21st 1965, 3,200 demonstrators were led by Martin Luther King Jr. towards the state capitol building in Montgomery. The trek from Selma to Montgomery is fifty-four miles long. The marchers slept wherever they happened to be at that point in time. When they finally reached Montgomery, Martin Luther King spoke to a crowd of 25,000 people that was broadcasted across the country. He stated, “The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma generated the massive power to turn the whole nation to a new course,” (“Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March”).

Meacham cites numerous examples of John Lewis's remarkable bravery and resilience in the face of violence and discrimination, including his participation in the Freedom Rides and his leadership in the Selma to Montgomery march. One particularly poignant example is Lewis's decision to deliver a speech at the 1963 March on Washington, despite the fact that his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., had cautioned him against doing so. Despite the risks involved, Lewis spoke out boldly and passionately, delivering a stirring call to action that helped to galvanize support for the civil rights movement. Meacham's analysis of this example is important because it underscores the vital role that courage and perseverance play in effecting meaningful change. By drawing on Lewis's example, Meacham encourages readers to find the strength and resilience necessary to confront the challenges of their own time, and to continue the work of building a more just and equitable society for

On April 16, 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a persistent civil rights leader, addressed 8 white clergymen on the way they responded to the protests from nonviolent Negros. He supports this claim by first emphasizing that all of what is going on is part of their heritage and how everyone has rights, then by telling them breaking the law and standing up for what they believe in embodies the American spirit, and finally indicates the protesters are heroes and they are doing what they can to defend themselves and show others their side of what is going on. Through King’s use of tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuades the clergymen and the people of the U.S, to fathom what is happening everyday around them and

The graphic memoir, March, is a biography about Congressman John Lewis’ young life in rural Alabama which provides a great insight into lives of black families in 1940s and 50s under Jim Crow and segregation laws. March opens with a violent march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which the gruesome acts later became known as “Bloody Sunday,” during this march, 600 peaceful civil rights protestors were attacked by the Alabama state troopers for not listening to their commands. The story then goes back and forth depicts Lewis growing up in rural Alabama and President Obama’s inauguration in 2009. This story of a civil rights pioneer, John Lewis, portrays a strong influence between geography, community, and politics. The correlation between these pillars of March is that they have to coexist with other in order for John Lewis to exist that the world knows today.

March Rhetorical Analysis The 1960’s civil rights movement often used persuasive language to echo the unheard voices of many individuals. Some more than others possessed the ability to exercise their potent use of language to bring forward prominent changes. In the book, March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, eloquent methods of speech play an important role. John Lewis, Martin Luther King, and George Wallace are some that expressed their beliefs through persuasive empowering words.

At the 1963 March on Washington, American Baptist minister and activist Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of his most famous speeches in history on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the height of the African American civil rights movement. King maintains an overall passionate tone throughout the speech, but in the beginning, he projected a more urgent, cautionary, earnest, and reverent tone to set the audience up for his message. Towards the end, his tone becomes more hopeful, optimistic, and uplifting to inspire his audience to listen to his message: take action against racial segregation and discrimination in a peaceful manner. Targeting black and white Americans with Christian beliefs, King exposes the American public to the injustice