Selma-to-Montgomery+March+-+Photograph

Here is an excerpt about a civil rights photograph taken from t //Picturing America Artwork, Essays, and Activities// on the web for you to read:

On Aug. 7, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important pieces of legislation in America since the era of Reconstruction. It signaled the victory of a battle that was fought five months earlier in Dallas County, Alabama. On March 25, 25,000 participants - the largest civil rights gathering the South had yet seen - converged on the state capital of Mongomery, concluding a four-day march for voting rights that began in Selma, fifty-four miles away.

James Karales, a photographer for the popular biweekly magazine //Look//, was sent to illustrate an article covering the march. Titled "Turning Point for the Church," the piece focused on the involvement of the clergy in the civil rights movement - specifically, the events in Selma that followed the murder of a white from the North who had gone down to support voting rights for blacks. Karales's photograph of this event captured the spirit and determination of civil rights workers during those tense and dangerous times.

In the week before Karales took this iconic picture, two unsuccessful attempts to march on the capital had already been made. On Sunday, March 5, the first activists, recorded by television cameras and still photographers, crossed the Edmund Pets Bridge out of Selma. Horrified viewers watched as unarmed marchers, including women and children, were assaulted by Alabama state troopers using tear gas, clubs, and whips. The group turned back battered but undefeated. "Bloody Sunday," as it became known, only strengthened the movement and increased public support. Ordinary citizens, as well as priests, ministers, nuns, and rabbis who had been called to Selma by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., flocked to join its ranks. The second attempt - "Turnaround Tuesday" - which Karales had been sent down to cover, was halted at the bridge by Dr. King before anyone was injured. Finally, six days later, the last march began after President Johnson mobilized the National Guard and delivered his voting rights legislation to Congress.

Karales's //Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rigns in 1965// reveals the strength of conviction demonstrated by hundreds of Americans seeking basic human rights. Transcending its primary function as a record of the event, it tells the story of the desire for freedom that is the shared heritage of all Americans. It is also a testament to Karales's ability to capture a timeless image from a fleetinng moment - one that still haunts the American conscience.

__Activity__ Carefully study the large reproduction of this photo or else view it at the Picturing America link below: [|Picturing America - Freedom and Equality] Copy, paste, and answer the 8 questions below in a post for this wiki page.