Joins Selma protests after 'Bloody Sunday,' meets Dr. King.

In March 1965, Jesse Jackson joined the historic Selma to Montgomery protests in Alabama, just days after the infamous "Bloody Sunday" incident. On March 7, 1965, peaceful demonstrators advocating for African American voting rights were brutally attacked by Alabama state troopers and local law enforcement as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The violence shocked the nation, as images of the beatings, tear gas, and club-wielding officers were broadcasted, galvanizing support for the Civil Rights Movement. Following the events of "Bloody Sunday," Jackson, then a student at the Chicago Theological Seminary and a rising civil rights activist, traveled to Selma to participate in the protests and offer his support. The Selma marches, organized by leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), were a response to the ongoing disenfranchisement of Black voters in the South, where discriminatory practices, including literacy tests and intimidation, prevented many African Americans from exercising their right to vote. For Jackson, joining the Selma movement was a critical moment. Not only did he participate in the protests, but he also met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the first time during this period. This meeting would prove pivotal, as Jackson soon became a close associate of King and a dedicated member of the SCLC. King’s leadership and vision for nonviolent protest deeply influenced Jackson, helping to shape his own path as a civil rights leader. The Selma protests culminated in the successful third march from Selma to Montgomery, which began on March 21, 1965, and was completed on March 25. Unlike the earlier attempts, this march was protected by federal court orders and escorted by federal troops. The protestors’ perseverance and the national outrage sparked by "Bloody Sunday" contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed many of the discriminatory practices used to block African American voters. Jackson’s involvement in the Selma marches was part of his early activism and dedication to the fight for civil rights. The events in Selma, and his meeting with King, solidified Jackson's role in the movement. Over the years, he would continue to rise in prominence, eventually becoming one of the most recognized voices for racial and social justice in America. #SelmaMarch #BloodySunday #JesseJackson #CivilRightsMovement #MomentsOfLife #MoofLife_Moment #MoofLife