This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march known as "Bloody Sunday." See our coverage of the historic weekend of events here.
In 2012, we interviewed Rep. John Lewis, who helped organize the Selma march as a young civil rights activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. "We got to the top of the bridge. We saw a sea of blue — Alabama state troopers — and we continued to walk," recalls Lewis, who suffered a concussion after a policeman hit him on the head with a nightstick.
In January, we spoke with director Ava Duvernay and featured excerpts from her Oscar-nominated film, "Selma," which highlights both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership, as well as the grassroots civil rights movement’s role in pushing President Lyndon Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act, and Coretta Scott King’s secret meeting with Malcolm X while King was in jail.
The Power of the People: Selma Director Ava DuVernay on Fight for Civil Rights, Voting Equality
Selma Director Defends Film’s Portrayal of LBJ–MLK Dispute on Voting Rights Legislation
Selma Director Ava DuVernay on Hollywood’s Lack of Diversity, Oscar Snub and #OscarsSoWhite Hashtag