Bloody Sunday Incident - Assignment Example

When the public loses trust in its law enforcement system, then it is time to review the principles involved and get them changed. Introduction From 1960 through 1969, the United States experienced numerous changes such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the escalation in the Vietnam War, the first landing on the Moon, the rise of the hippy era and notable events in the fight for Civil Rights. One of these Civil Rights events was the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama by 600 Black Americans on Sunday, March 7, 1965.

The purpose of the march was to obtain the right for Blacks to vote (Hunter & Barker 2011). The governor of Alabama was George Wallace, who was considered a racist and segregationist. Alabama State Troopers showed up in force and before long, the gathering turned into a bloody confrontation, with the police seen as using excessive force on the group (BBC 2013). A number of people were hospitalized with injuries and the effects of tear gas. The march would later be conducted again on March 28, 1965, this time with Martin Luther King in attendance. 1.The key points for the Bloody Sunday event were that 600 Black Americans conducted a peaceful march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. . 2.

The event occurred in Selma, Alabama, March 7th, 1965 on US Route 80 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The protesters were pushed back to the Browns Chapel Methodist Church which was where the march had started from (BBC 2013). 3. The peaceful protesters started from the Browns Chapel Methodist Church and walked along US Route 80 to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They did not stop anywhere nor did they conduct any illegal actions. Governor Wallace had gotten wind of the fact that there would be a march by the Blacks and called up the State Troopers to meet the protesters and have them disperse and go back home.

When the protesters met up with the troopers, they were told to go home or go to church but they would not move. The police, with gas masks on, began moving forward until they reached the first line of protesters (BBC 2013). At that point, the troopers began shoving people backwards and people started falling down. There were also troopers on horseback as well who were wielding wood clubs. Many were beaten, even those that were already down on the ground. At some point, some of the protesters began throwing bricks and bottles at the police in an effort to fight back.

A number of people were hurt and put into the hospital (Davis 1999). 4. There were two reasons that this march took place. The first was that the Blacks had been having meetings about conducting a walk over the bridge to fight for the right to vote for Blacks. The second reason for the march was that after a February rally meeting held at one church in Marion, Alabama, when the church goers came out the church, they were attacked by state troopers and one man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was trying to protect his mother from being clubbed, was