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1965 Alabama civil rights "funeral march" protest...
1965 Alabama civil rights "funeral march" protest...
Item # 724639
March 31, 1965
THE SPRINGFIELD UNION, March 31, 1965
* Montgomery, Alabama "funeral march" protest
* Slain activists from the Selma to Montgomery march
The front page has a one column heading: "Ala. Marchers Carry Coffins to State Capital" with subhead. (see images) Other related report with photo on page 4.
Complete with 34 pages, light toning and minor wear at the margins, generally in very nice condition.
background: On March 30, 1965, the streets of Montgomery became the stage for a haunting "funeral march" that served as a grim postscript to the triumphant Selma-to-Montgomery trek concluded just days prior. Organized largely by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and led by James Forman, hundreds of protesters—mostly students—carried three symbolic coffins (representing the slain activists Jimmie Lee Jackson, James Reeb, and Viola Liuzzo) toward the Alabama State Capitol to confront Governor George Wallace over persistent police brutality. When the procession was blocked by a formidable wall of state troopers and city police, the marchers transformed the intersection into a sanctuary of dissent, laying the coffins directly on the pavement and conducting a somber prayer service in the rain. This demonstration was a raw, strategic reminder that while the Voting Rights Act was gaining momentum in Washington, the atmospheric violence and state-sanctioned hostility in Alabama remained a deadly reality for those on the front lines.
Category: The 20th Century
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