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Toolkit Texts

by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.

“Every American citizen must have

an equal right to vote.”

President Lyndon B. Johnson, March 15, 1965

Today, every time an African American citizen votes

in an election, Joanne Bland and Lynda Lowery have a

reason to smile. In a large part it’s thanks to them and the

many thousands of other people who marched for equal

voting rights in the 1960s that African Americans can vote

freely today.

Joanne and Lynda are sisters from Selma, Alabama.

When they were young girls, African Americans living in

the South were frequently prevented from voting. They were

beaten, forced to take difficult tests, and made to pay fees

when they tried to vote. This violated the 15th Amendment

to the Constitution, which states that a person cannot be

unfair voting practices.

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©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from

Toolkit Texts

by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.

denied the right to vote

because of the color of his or

her skin. During the 1960s,

many Americans protested the

violation of African Americans’

rights.

On March 7, 1965, 15-year-old

Lynda and 11-year-old Joanne

began to

march

with 600 people

to Alabama’s capital city of

Montgomery. After only six blocks,

they were attacked by 200 police officers

with tear gas and nightsticks. (Tear gas

irritates the eyes and nose and makes

people cough. Nightsticks are wooden

clubs sometimes used by police officers.)

Lynda remembers how the tear gas

caused blinding tears and burned her nose.

She panicked. She was running for safety when

a police officer grabbed her and hit her in the

face and head with his nightstick. Somehow, she

managed to find Joanne and get to safety. Later,

she

needed 24 stitches to sew up her wounds. That

terrible day became known as Bloody Sunday.

As used here, a

march

is an

organized public walk by a

group of people for a specific

cause or issue. Often, marchers

are protesting something they

believe is unfair. When they arrive

at their destination, marchers

often continue their protest with

speeches, chants, and songs.

The Selma marchers on their

way to Montgomery

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©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from

Toolkit Texts

by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.

speaking to the crowds in

Montgomery

Just a few weeks later, on March 21, more

than 3,000 people set out from Selma to march

to Montgomery. People had come from all over

the country to take part in the march. This

time, the marchers were protected by military

police. Joanne participated in that march,

and Lynda walked the entire 54 miles to

Montgomery. She and the other marchers

walked 12 miles a day—sometimes in the

rain—and slept in tents at night.

By the time they reached Montgomery five

days later, 25,000 people had joined the march

for equal voting rights for African Americans.

They were met by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

a powerful civil rights leader and Baptist

minister.

When Lynda reached Montgomery, she felt

that she had really accomplished something.

She had feared for her safety throughout the

march, but she kept going. Five months

later, Congress passed the Voting Rights

Act of 1965. It prohibits all unfair

voting practices due to race and

color.

Joanne has kept memories of

the march alive by becoming the

director and one of the founders

of the Voting Rights Museum in

Selma. She says that the purpose

of the museum is “to teach the

younger generation the awesome

things that ordinary people can do.”