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Dangerous Crossing
Standing on the Bank of The Alabama River, at the southern foot of Edmund Pettus Bridge, The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and two thousand of his most devout followers, waiting for the call to march across the Bridge, continue on to the State Capitol (Building) in Birmingham, where He and his young disciples would continue their (non-violent) fight for the expansion of CIVIL (VOTING) RIGHTS FOR ALL AMERICANS, no matter the COLOR OF THEIR SKIN.
MARCH 7, 1965 — In his historic effort to persuade the United States Congress to pass a bill securing voting rights for black Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. led a march of thousands across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama. Upon crossing, King and his fellow activists, including John Lewis, were attacked by a hostile group, made up of a mix of white residents and Alabama law enforcement.
• NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS MUSEUM
• THE EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE (MAP)
• SELMA (THE MOVIE)
T–R–O–U–B–L–E
“The Good Kind.”
JOHN LEWIS:
— When the Georgia Congressman spoke, the Wise Listened.
• A JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE ON THE BRIDGE
— Magnolia Pictures
GOOD TROUBLE — After having his skull fractured, and being nearly beaten to death while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, congressman Lewis dedicated the rest of his 80-years fighting for the civil and voting rights he was fighting for when he that day 50 years ago. The same rights owed ALL AMERICANS, equally, no matter their African ancestry, or the color of skin being “BLACK.” The same rights that so many, including Lewis, have already fought and died for.
Mississippi Goddamn
b/ Nina Simone
((play))
— NPR
March 21, 1965 — John Lewis, a young disciple of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and an activist leader in the Civil Rights Movement, was so severely beaten by the white mob and Alabama State Troopers on the “other” side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, that he recalled, 50 years later …
“I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE ON THAT BRIDGE.”
— NPR
March 21, 1965 — Civil rights marchers cross the Alabama River on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on their (difficult) way toward Montgomery, the state capital.
• MELEE IN SELMA (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
Selma, Alabama
As Georgia Congressman John Lewis, 50 Years Later, stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, he told CBS’ Charlie Rose that he thought he was going to die that day. Lewis survived, that day, but he was hospitalized after an Alabama State Trooper fractured his skull.
Georgia Congressman John Lewis was a young man who had marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and had become an important leader in group of Civil Rights Activists called the Freedom Riders. He narrates this short video of his crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and his being assaulted by Alabama State Troopers as he and the group reached the other side.
John Lewis and Civil Rights activists were met by violent Alabama State Troopers after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
— illustrations by Nate Powell
from John Lewis’ graphic novel “March”
— CBS (2015)
John Lewis — On the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama (March 7, 1965), march organizer, Georgia congressman John Lewis, who himself was assaulted and battered that day, re-visits the bridge and talks to Bob Schieffer on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Two weeks after “Bloody Sunday” (March 21, 1965) Martin Luther King Jr., joined by John Lewis and thousands of like-minded activists, successfully crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and marched their way to the Alabama State Capitol Building in Montgomery, as they had always intended.
Young, old, black, and white, a diverse group of thousands participated in the Voting Rights march between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.
Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of Voting Rights activists (including Georgia Congressman John Lewis, right) march toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
After announcing that Alabama Gov. George Wallace had forbidden the march, and accused the activists as criminal, State Troopers deployed canisters of tear gas, smoke, and nausea gas, before physically battering the marchers and beating them back across the bridge. Pictured here, (now congressman) John Lewis , on the ground tries to protect himself from the batons Alabama State Troopers are using to beat him down further.
A mother and child (Selma residents) watched as Martin Luther King Jr. and his Voting Rights followers passed through their neighborhood, as they marched toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge crosses the Alabama River.
After signing the Voting Rights Act (August 6, 1965) U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Martin Luther King Jr. with the pen with which he had signed the document. [READ MORE]
• THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF LIVING COLOUR
• THE BRIDGE ( PG 1.)
Ain’t My Cross To Bear
b/ The Allman Brothers (Beginnings)
Duane Allman
Muscle Shoals
w/ Aretha Franklin
Sweet Home Alabama b/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pack Up The Plantation b/ Tom Petty
The Outlaws
MOFRO
Miami Sound Machine
PALO
SUÉNALO
Spam All Stars
Mavericks
Jimmy Buffet
Criteria Studios
TOM DOWD: THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC
DEREK & THE DOMINOS
LAYLA
461 Ocean Boulevard
Chicago
Bee Gees
James Gang w/ Tommy Bolin
Hit Factory
Al Di Meola
Marlin Hotel
Island Records
Ford Modeling Agency
Miami Soundscape Park
Will Calhoun w/Miami Symphony Violins
Miami Beach Under The Stars
Return To Forever (2008)
