State troopers and a mounted posse attack some 600 voting-rights marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.
At a Glance
- Date
- 7 March 1965
- Location
- Selma, Alabama
- Key people
- John Lewis, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- Contemporary news film and press, March 7, 1965 · National Park Service
What It Meant Then
Televised footage of the beatings shocked the nation and built support for federal voting-rights legislation.
What It Means Now
Selma's bridge remains a primary site of civil rights pilgrimage and commemoration.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bloody-sunday-at-the-edmund-pettus-bridge/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bloody-sunday-at-the-edmund-pettus-bridge/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bloody-sunday-at-the-edmund-pettus-bridge/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.