Thursday, 19 December 2019
I spent several hours this morning calling all the dog grooming places I could find, both in the Montgomery area and, failing that, in the Ozark area. It had finally dawned on me that Anna and David are driving all the way from Texas over to Ozark, AL, to spend a couple of days at Christmas with us, and the dogs and the RV all smell very strongly of dirty dog. Okay for me - I'm used to the smell - but not something I wanted to invite even family to put up with for 2 days.
I learned that everybody else in both towns have had the same idea and all the groomers are booked until after New Year's. Finally, I found a vet clinic that said they could do grooming, and since all I needed were shampoos and brush-outs for the dogs - no actual hair cutting - I convinced them they could fit my critters in. I made an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning.
Today I went west to Selma to learn about the March from Selma to Montgomery.
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| today's route |
I saw fields of cows and sheep (not together). I saw 2 cows with coloring that belonged to horses: they were both gray with very dark gray necks and heads. Really pretty, but I've never seen a cow that color.
In some places the road was lined with a thick hedge of bamboo, reminding me that I am in the South.
I'm sorry that I also saw a lot of litter. In fact, I've been seeing a lot of litter much of the time I've been in Alabama.
The road between the 2 cities runs over quite a few hills. I'd get to the top of one and be able to look ahead to several more hills to come and think, "This is the road all these people walked - walked - all those years ago." They're some real hills and folks weren't wearing jeans and tennies back then.
Selma
I first drove around Selma a bit. My best description would be that most of the buildings in downtown show signs of faded glory - you can see they were once beautiful but haven't been maintained very well. I'm not sure how much money is in that town, given its appearance.
I saw maybe 4 different presentations of the events leading up to, and including, the March. Two versions at the National Park Service's Selma Interpretive Center, another one at their Lowndes Interpretive Center, and another one in their brochure. (See, the Park Service can produce a bunch of information when they want to, which is what was so frustrating for me at Tuskegee.)
It's taken me some time to sort through all this for a timeline of events, but I think I've got it.
Chronology
(1) Dallas County, where Selma is, was one of the more reluctant counties to allow African-Americans their right to vote. As early as 1933, the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) formed to help register black voters. By 1961, only 156 of the potential 15,000 black voters were registered. The county's record was so bad, even the US Justice Department asked for records from county registrars, but the county got a judge to block the request.
(2) Jim Clark, a devout segregationist with a bad temper, was elected county sheriff in 1955.
(2) In February 1963, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) came in to town to help with voting clinics. But when blacks tried to register to vote at the county courthouse, Sheriff Clark and his deputies attacked and harassed them - an obstacle as difficult as the alleged literacy tests they were given.
(3) In July 1964, the local court handed down an injunction prohibiting freedom of assembly for black voters. The DCVL leaders continued to meet secretly.
(4) In December 1964, the DCVL decided they needed help and asked the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to assist. The SCLC was headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. By this time, MLK had become deeply convinced in the power of "nonviolent direct action"; he knew the aggressiveness of Sheriff Clark would be perfect for promoting their cause nationally. (As it turned out, Sheriff Clark may have been instrumental in the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Irony is everywhere.)
(5) January 2, 1965, despite the injunction against large gatherings of African-Americans, MLK gave an inspirational speech at Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Selma's segregationist mayor was becoming concerned about the effect of negative press coverage on attracting industry and business to town. He tried to limit Sheriff Clark's authority and kept him from interfering with the MLK gathering, but the mayor's control didn't last long.
(6) January 18th, about 400 blacks marched from the church to the courthouse a few blocks away to register to vote. Sheriff Clark didn't allow anyone to register. They did this again on January 19th; Clark ordered them to move; one woman moved too slowly for him and he grabbed her and shoved her toward a patrol car, then arrested many others. National news media were there, and photos of the woman being dragged to the patrol car made front pages.
(7) January 22nd, more than 100 black school teachers marched to the courthouse to register. The sheriff and his deputies shoved them away from the courthouse with nightsticks. The teachers' courage inspired students and others who had previously been afraid of getting involved.
(8) February 18th, down the road from Selma, in Marion, Rev. James Orange led a group of African-Americans on a march to their courthouse to register to vote; he was arrested and jailed. Rumors were rampant that a mob would lynch him that night, so about 400 folks marched to the courthouse that evening in his support. State troopers and angry whites stopped them, assaulted them and chased many back to their church. Some ran away and hid in businesses. Among those was Jimmie Lee Jackson, who hid in a cafe to protect his mother and grandfather. A state trooper shot Jackson in the stomach; he died a week later.
(9) Angered by his death, a speaker at his memorial service said he was ready to walk to Montgomery to talk directly to Gov. Wallace. Most of those at the service agreed with him. Plans were made, and it was agreed to begin the march from Selma.
(10) A week later, on March 7th, the March to Montgomery began with 600 people leaving the Brown Chapel AME Church. They got as far as the Montgomery side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the way out of town, where the marchers were met by a phalanx of state troopers, local cops and a mounted posse, as well as some white segregationists. The marchers asked to speak to the person in charge, and one minute later law enforcement charged at them, knocking them down and kicking them, beating them with nightsticks, whips and rubber tubes, chasing them on horseback. Many wanted to retaliate, but movement organizers convinced them not to. Their nonviolent reaction worked. The entire country was horrified at footage of the unprovoked police violence appearing on their nightly news programs. This was called Bloody Sunday.
MLK sent out a call to ministers and others around the country to join him in a Ministers March on the 9th. Planeloads poured in to the area.
(11) March 8th, a local judge issued an injunction on any further marches until a hearing could be held. This put MLK in a bind: he had already announced the Ministers March, but he didn't want the protesters to be seen as violating any laws; he felt it would weaken their cause with the general public.
(12) March 9th, the ministers marched as far as the bridge; when they were met by police, they knelt to pray and then turned back, not wanting to violate the court order.
That night, a white minister from Boston, Rev. James Reeb, was beaten by the KKK and died March 11th.
A vigil for Rev. Reeb turned into a constant stream of marchers going from Brown Chapel to the courthouse. Selma's mayor banned marches and ordered protesters keep to Brown Chapel or 1st Baptist Church. A rope was put up to mark the barrier, called the "Berlin Wall," reinforced by rows of law enforcement. The protesters were kept prisoners there for 6 days and nights.
(13) March 14th, college students formed a protest at the capitol in Montgomery; police and mounted deputies chased the students down the street with clubs and whips.
(14) March 15th, Pres. Johnson made a special address to Congress to transmit what became the Voting Rights Act. I don't know who wrote his speech, but it's really good. http://www.lbjlibrary.org/johnsons-special-message-to-congress
(15) March 17th, the judge lifted the injunction and allowed the March to Montgomery to proceed, but he limited them: in Lowndes County, between Dallas County (Selma) and Montgomery County, no more than 300 marchers would be allowed, due to the narrow highway and the difficulty in protecting them from white objectors; on either side of the county line, they could have as many marchers as they wanted.
Gov. Wallace refused to provide protection for the marchers so LBJ put the Alabama National Guard under federal control and sent in additional US marshals and FBI agents. The Guardsmen were sullen about the duty, but at least this time they were on the protecting end of things.
(16) March 21st, thousands marched from Brown Chapel AME Church to the Lowndes County line; on March 22nd, the road narrowed to 2 lanes at the county line and 300 marched from there; on March 24th, they reached the Montgomery county line and camped one last night at a Catholic facility; on March 25th, 25,000 rallied at the state capitol. They had come 54 miles.
Viola Liuzzo, a white housewife from Detroit who had been disturbed by news reports, had come down to help the marchers; on March 25th, KKK members shot and killed her.
(17) August 6th, LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Photographs
The culmination in 1965:
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| MLK brought a new strategy to the movement: nonviolence. |
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| January 18th, people lined up to register to vote - they were arrested for parading without a permit |
The opposition:
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| Sheriff Jim Clark |
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| the mindset behind that quote is interesting |
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| From the top of the bridge they saw a mass of blue uniforms below - but they kept marching. |
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| at the foot of the bridge - in front: John Lewis (in the white coat) and Hosea Williams |
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| the officers kept walking - in the middle you can see John Lewis's back with his backpack in the center of the crowd |
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| the officers walked right over people and kept on walking (these last 2 photos are blurred - they were on a video) |
March 9th, Turn Around Tuesday:
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| ministers kneeling in prayer |
March 14th, Student Protest in Montgomery:
March 21st-25th, March to Montgomery:
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| They're dressed up in suits and heels. |
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| Some of them walked the entire 54 miles to Montgomery. |
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| that's the capitol in the background |
The Capitol is the same building where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy in 1861, and the official home of the Confederate government until it was moved to Richmond. It's called the Cradle of the Confederacy. And on March 25, 1965, 25,000 of those the Confederates didn't acknowledge to be people gathered to demand the right to vote they were guaranteed when they were born in America.
Quotes
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| note: quote from the Deputy Attorney General of the US |
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| quote from John Lewis |
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| speaking at the 50th Anniversary celebration |
Another person talked about disregarding the risk of death: "Are you committed so deeply that dying is a secondary matter?"
Afterwards
Racism didn't die when the Voting Rights Act passed. But at least the poll tax and literacy tests were eliminated and African-Americans were allowed to vote.
Before:
2.1% of all blacks in Alabama were registered to vote. In Lowndes County, none were registered.
After:
Some of those in Lowndes County who registered to vote that year were tenant farmers, and they were evicted from their homes and the land they'd farmed. Some stayed with family, but 40 families stayed in the county and created a tent city. They lived there for 4 months during that winter, and SNCC helped them find jobs and housing.
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| ... so much for Sheriff Clark |
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| beginning of the Black Panther Party |
In one way, it all happened so fast: MLK came to town in December 1964. By March 1965, LBJ introduced the Voting Rights Act to Congress. But of course, the struggle for the right to vote had been going on since Jim Crow laws reasserted white power over black after Reconstruction. And given the number of assaults on voting rights that are current headlines, the struggle is still going on.
These folks had so much to lose - their jobs, their homes, their health and their lives. Many were too afraid to risk that. But when they had the chance, they registered and voted in large numbers, eventually exerting a great deal of electoral power - exactly what the wealthy white landowners had feared.
Several of the presentations I saw were aimed at young people, many of whom don't bother to vote, to educate them about the price that was paid by others to give them the right to vote. But I don't think it's just young people - the 50 years that have passed have produced 2 generations of voters, not just the young, and a lot of people in their 30s and 40s, black and white, fail to vote. These videos should be shown to seniors in schools around the country, who can take the information home to their parents, and maybe create a renewed interest in voting, and in protecting voting rights from the continued assaults.
