Behind the Mission: The Story of The 54th Mile Policing Project

Fifty-four miles lay between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. This was the path taken by civil rights marchers in 1965 as part of a peaceful protest against systematic discrimination toward Black Americans that hindered their right to vote.

Jimmie Lee Jackson, Bloody Sunday, and the March to Montgomery

On February 18, 1965, Alabama State Troopers fatally shot an unarmed civil rights activist, Jimmie Lee Jackson. A champion for equal voting rights, Jackson died protecting his mother, who was attacked by police during a demonstration in Marion, AL.

In response to Jackson's death and ongoing violation of civil and voting rights in Alabama, local civil rights leaders organized a 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, intending to take their cause directly to Governor George Wallace in the state’s capital. Led by 25-year-old activist John Lewis, on March 7, 1965, over 600 demonstrators began this march through Selma’s downtown but were blocked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. When the marchers refused to yield, the troopers attacked demonstrators using tear gas, nightsticks, and other means of violence. Television cameras captured the confrontation, giving Americans a front-row seat to “Bloody Sunday.”

Marchers, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were again blocked by police two days later as they crossed the bridge. It wasn't until March 25th, 1965, that Dr. King and the 25,000 marchers with him could complete their march to the Alabama State Capitol Building and Governor Wallace's office.

Walking Towards Changes

The 54-mile march inspired not only the American public but the United States Congress, leading to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Edmund Pettus Bridge remains a powerful landmark for the Civil Rights Movement.