Primary Sources: Civil Rights in America - Events: Selma to Montgomery March (1965)

"n March 6, 1965 – one day before the demonstration now known as Bloody Sunday took place in Selma, Alabama -- seventy-two white citizens from throughout Alabama gathered on the steps of the Dallas County Courthouse to demonstrate support for the planned Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march. An off-shoot of the interracial Alabama Council on Human Relations, the group was comprised of white Alabamians who were ready to do more and talk less about the need for social change. They called themselves the Concerned White Citizens of Alabama (CWCA).



In response to suggestions from Civil Rights Movement leaders and organizers of the Voting Rights March, CWCA members prepared and served food to marchers at stops along their way from Selma to the state capitol when the Voting Rights March took place in March 1965. Later that year, the group began to raise funds to support the legal defense of Caliph Washington, a young man they believed was a victim of police brutality—another issue with which the group was concerned from its inception. The group ratified its organizational constitution on May 8, 1965. The Concerned White Citizens of Alabama records consist of the organization’s constitution, statement of purpose, minutes from meetings, and correspondence between officers of the organization and a variety of supporters, media representatives, and elected officials. In addition, the records contain membership cards, mailing lists, envelopes, flyers, bank statements, and many more. Of particular interest are flyers distributed throughout the state by the CWCA, as well as a series of sworn citizens’ statements related to the case of Caliph Washington. These items were donated by the group’s secretary, Eileen Walbert, to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in 1992."

Documents provided by the Civil Rights Movement Veterans website.

Freedom of Information Act Document via Internet Archives

"Joseph Lowery recalls his position as pastor at the Warren Street Church in Mobile, Alabama, in the 1950s. He remembers joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the differences in race relations between Mobile and other southern cities, and helping to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He reflects on the effectiveness of nonviolence, the libel suit against him, sit-ins across the country, and the Selma to Montgomery March."

"Audio-visual materials from the march consist of photographs taken in both Selma and Montgomery from March 6 to March 17, 1965, and surveillance audiotapes of the triumphant rally held on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery at the conclusion of the march on March 25, 1965. A substantial number of photographs of this event have been published in conventional sources and on the Internet. Dramatic documentary footage may be seen in part 6 of the film Eyes on the Prize. Nonetheless, the 369 vivid black-and-white photos in the Rabin collection provide numerous unique images of the historic efforts to initiate the Selma-to-Montgomery March."

"Lynda Blackmon Lowery described her role as the youngest member of the Selma, Alabama Civil Rights March in 1965. Along with her co-authors, Susan Buckley and Elspeth Leacock, Lowery recounted her childhood during this period, and discussed the background of events that led to his landmark action. The authors showed illustrations and photographs from their book as well as primary sources, including original film footage, from the period."

"Starting with 3200 people in Selma, Alabama and ending in Montgomery, Alabama with 25,000, the Selma-to-Montgomery March is considered to have "...represented the political and emotional peak of the modern civil rights movement." For some, "...the best and most lasting evidence of [the spirit of the event] was to be found in the songs that evolved from the march." This collection of songs was compiled by Pete Seeger, Len Chandler, and the Freedom Voices. It represents one of the most powerful tools behind this movement-song."