‘Foundation of the bridge’: Recalling ‘Courageous Eight’ who risked all to spearhead Selma marches
Subject
Foundation of the bridge; Courageous Eight; Selma
Description
Nearly 60 years ago, Black leaders organized three marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, the state capital, to protest legislation preventing Black Americans from voting.
The three marches, with the final occurring on March 21, 1965, were led by historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and the Rev. Hosea Williams.
But historians and Selma natives say the marches wouldn’t have come about without eight people in particular, all members of the Dallas County (Alabama) Voters League, known as the Courageous Eight.
The searing images of white state troopers attacking peaceful marchers in Selma were among the factors that eventually led President Lyndon B. Johnson and other lawmakers to support national voting rights legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Creator
USA TODAY
Source
Publisher
usatoday.com
File
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