from the historical marker:
On Sunday March 7, 1965, 600 people led by Hosea Williams & John Lewis began a march to Montgomery to take their quest for voting rights directly to Governor George C. Wallace. At the Pettus bridge they were met by state troopers who used horses, tear gas & billy clubs to break up the march.
A march on March 9, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. met the troopers at the same place & turned around without incident.
The Federal Court ruled the march was legal & with Federal protection 4,000 began the march to Montgomery on March 21. Camping along the road the protestors reached 25,000 in number by the time they reached the State Capital on March 25.
National news coverage of these events secured widespread support & led to the approval of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches
