The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 10, 2025
March 7th marked 60 years since Black Americans, demanding their right to vote, were brutally beaten and gassed by their government in Selma, Alabama. The ‘Blood Sunday’ attack outraged many Americans, resulting in passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Despite the 1870 passage of the 15th Amendment prohibiting discrimination based on “race, color or previous enslavement,” African Americans endured almost a century of often violent Jim Crow barriers to voting.
Demanding equal access, an estimated 600 activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery when they were met by 150 Alabama state troopers and sheriff deputies, blocking passage over the Edmund Pettus bridge. Police, wielding batons and tear gas, waded into the crowd, brutally beating marchers, including future Congressman John Lewis. At least 58 marchers were injured.
News cameras captured the attack, broadcast that night during peak Sunday night viewing. Millions of Americans spoke out against the brutality, and by March 17th, the Voting Rights Act was introduced in Congress, enforcing the 15th Amendment. On March 25th, Dr. Martin Luther King led an estimated 3,200 activists from around the country to complete the march.
On August 6th, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law. In 2025, that law is under attack. More on that tomorrow. We thank the Smithsonian for use of Carl Benkert’s Selma march recordings.
Find much more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
National Park Service – Bloody Sunday
National Archives – John Lewis – March from Selma to Montgomery, “Bloody Sunday,” 1965National Archives – Voting Rights Act of 1965
Campaign Legal Center – Bloody Sunday Remembered: 60 Years Later
National Interest – Media Historian on “Bloody Sunday” and the Late Rep. John Lewis
Axios – Civil rights questions cloud “Bloody Sunday” anniversary in Selma
Groups Taking Action:
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Selma Center for Nonviolence
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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