Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

For centuries, Selma was a city where the rules of race
were enforced by humiliation and fear. But Selma gave
birth to one of the greatest grassroots campaigns in
history—the voting rights movement. The Selma to
Montgomery march was the culmination of many years of
hard work by courageous souls who realized that things
would never change if they did not act. The direct result of
their work was passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Samuel Boynton and his wife Amelia were actively
registering blacks in rural Alabama in the 1930s. They
founded the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL),
which Mrs. Boynton and seven colleagues continued to
run after Mr. Boynton's death in 1963. The group had
much work to do: in the early 1960s, 57 percent of Dallas
County was African American and only 1 percent of
those over 21 were registered to vote. Their efforts were
supported by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), which organized mass meetings
and registration drives in Selma churches.

A voteless people is a hopeless people. Sign in Samuel Boynton's office

The beating of marchers by state troopers on Bloody Sunday focused national attention on the Selma voting rights campaign.

Selma children march for their parents right to vote.

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Show me all markers in:  Selma, AL  |  Dallas County  |  36703  |  Alabama  |  United States of America

Turning Point
First Baptist Church
George Washington Carver Neighborhood
Lewis Scott
I Had A Dream
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church
Sanctuary to Stage
George Washington Carver Homes Projects
Temple Mishkan Israel
Ware - Baker - Jones House

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