After being stopped from marching several times, after being beaten and tear-gassed, run down by horses, attacked by dogs, chased out of churches where they sought refuge, there was enough national attention brought to the situation that supporters began to flock to Selma to join in the efforts. President Lyndon Johnson finally called in the National Guard to protect the marchers, and they were able to actually begin the Voting Rights March to the capitol of Alabama. They wanted to deliver a petition to the governor asking that they be allowed to register to vote. The 54-mile march finally took place over 5 days, from March 21-25, 1965.
I was wondering how they managed this, where they ate and slept, where the toilets were (my mind often concentrates on the details!). I found the answer to all these questions as I began to drive from Selma to Montgomery on the same highway the marchers had walked. Halfway between the two cities I came across the Lowndes Co. Interpretive Center, which gave me the details of the march.
Black tenant farmers along the route brought them food, and gave them a place to sleep and rest at night. For this, the tenant farmers were ejected from their homes by the white farm owners. They were blocked from finding other employment and many of them were homeless for years after the march. They ended up in a tent city in an area called White Hall.
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Lowndes County Interpretive Center.
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The design on the gate reminded me of the Edmund Pettis Bridge.
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The 54-mile journey.
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5 days of walking for freedom.
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The tent city.
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