Wesley Davis
America since 1890 essay
4 April 2015
Selma
The inspirational moments in history were Dr. Martin Luther King lead the Civil Rights
Movement marked the greatest civil battle between the state of Alabama and its Negro
residents. This movie begins with MLK accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway
during the year 1964 for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. During the heat of
the voting disparity in Alabama, Lyndon B Johnson had signed the Civil Rights Act.
Although segregation is outlawed in the southern states, African Americans were still
denied the approval of voting with the help of the poll tax, literacy test, and violence. MLK
joined the SCLC (southern Christian leadership conference) in 1963, thus collaborating
with the SNCC to use Selma, Alabama as their target for non-violent protesting.
Throughout the next couple years, King and his protesters were beaten, arrested, and
morally devastated.
Once King entered into Selma, he met with Jim Clark, police chief of Selma, in an attempt
to vote with his fellow African Americans. Sheriff Clark was indeed highly opposed to
racial integration during the nonviolent protests in Selma, Alabama. King knew that the
march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge to Montgomery, Alabama would promote awareness
of the ongoing racial discrimination. The first march was led by one of MLK’s advisors
and the leader of the SNCC. At the end of the bridge, the nightmare unraveled for the
group of protestors. A group of law enforcement waited at the end of the bridge with cattle
