Edmund Pettus Bridge

Selma, Alabama

Iconic site of where the voting rights marches began.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge, which spans the Alabama River, is one of the most iconic symbols of the modern struggle for civil and voting rights in America.  On March 7, 1965, a voting rights march here caught the attention of the nation.  The attempt was met with violent police resistance at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, an event that came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.”  

The second march, called the “Ministers’ March,” spurred thousands of religious leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to join the protest.  This march occurred two days later on what is now known as “Turnaround Tuesday.”  On March 21, the third and final march was led by Martin Luther King.  Five months later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which prohibits discrimination in voting because of race and color.

Six blocks from the Pettus Bridge is the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which served as the headquarters for the voting-rights effort in Alabama during the civil rights movement and served as the starting point for the Selma marches. 

On the other side of the bridge is the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, which chronicles the historic journey for the right to vote.  The museum features many outstanding exhibits on the events leading up to the Voting Rights Act.  A nearby sister facility to the museum is the Slavery and Civil War Museum offering a sensory reenactment of the history of slavery in America.

Visitors should begin their tour at Selma Interpretive Center, located at the foot of the Pettus Bridge (temporarily closed).  Be sure to inquire about the Selma walking tour.  The Center also serves as an introduction to the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, a 54-mile scenic byway you can drive that follows the route of marchers.

Across the bridge in downtown Selma, Alabama.