Defying an anti-meeting injunction, Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a mass meeting at Brown Chapel AME Church, opening the Selma campaign for voting rights.
At a Glance
- Date
- 2 January 1965
- Location
- Selma, Alabama
- Key people
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- SCLC campaign records (1965) · Stanford King Institute
What It Meant Then
It began the drive that would lead to Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Act.
What It Means Now
Brown Chapel remains a landmark of the Selma movement.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “King Launches the Selma Voting-Rights Campaign.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-launches-the-selma-voting-rights-campaign/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). King Launches the Selma Voting-Rights Campaign. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-launches-the-selma-voting-rights-campaign/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “King Launches the Selma Voting-Rights Campaign.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-launches-the-selma-voting-rights-campaign/.
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.