Protest at Selma

Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

David J. Garrow

• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781504011549
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire afro-américaine

A thorough and insightful account of the historic 1965 civil rights protest at Selma, Alabama, from the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning biography Bearing the Cross Vivid descriptions of violence and courageous acts fill David Garrow's account of the momentous 1965 protest at Selma, Alabama, in which the author illuminates the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in organizing the demonstrations that led to the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Beyond a mere narration of events, Garrow provides an in-depth look at the political strategy of King and of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He explains how King's awareness of media coverage of the protests—especially reports of white violence against peaceful African American protestors—would elicit sympathy for the cause and lead to dramatic legislative change. Garrow's analysis of these tactics and of the news reports surrounding these events provides a deeper understanding of how civil rights activists utilized a nonviolent approach to achieve success in the face of great opposition and ultimately effected monumental political change.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• Preface
• Introduction: Voting Rights and Protest
• 1. Black Voters and the Federal Voting Rights Enforcement Effort in the South, 1940–1964
• 2. Selma and the Voting Rights Act: Commencement and Climax
• 3. Selma and the Voting Rights Act: Crisis and Denouement
• 4. Reactions and Responses: Selma, Birmingham, and Civil Rights Legislation
• 5. Congressmen, Constituents, and the News Media
• 6. Enforcement and Effects: The Voting Rights Act and Black Political Participation in the South, 1965–1976,
• 7. The Strategy of Protest and the SCLC at Selma
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author
• Copyright Page