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POLITICS

How 'Bloody Sunday' turned the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma into a symbol of civil rights

March 7, 2021Updated March 4, 2025, 6:57 p.m. ET
Religious and Civil Rights leaders and others hold hands in song and prayer prior to the start of the first Selma to Montgomery March, Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965. Among those pictured are, right from center, Robert Mants (center, in dark coat), John Lewis, unidentified, Andrew Young, Hosea Williams, and Amelia Boynton. The violence that ensued lead to the event being known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
Religious and Civil Rights leaders and others hold hands in song and prayer prior to the start of the first Selma to Montgomery March, Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965. Among those pictured are, right from center, Robert Mants (center, in dark coat), John Lewis, unidentified, Andrew Young, Hosea Williams, and Amelia Boynton. The violence that ensued lead to the event being known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
Charles Moore, Getty Images
State troopers armed with billy clubs wait, near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, for marchers on the first Selma to Montgomery March, Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965. After the marchers crossed the bridge, they were confronted with State Troopers who charged them, employing billy clubs and tear gas. The violence that led to the event being known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
State troopers armed with billy clubs wait, near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, for marchers on the first Selma to Montgomery March, Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965. After the marchers crossed the bridge, they were confronted with State Troopers who charged them, employing billy clubs and tear gas. The violence that led to the event being known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
Charles Moore, Getty Images
President Barack Obama and Rep. John Lewis (far left), Democrat of Georgia, sing as they lead a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches on March 7, 2015.
President Barack Obama and Rep. John Lewis (far left), Democrat of Georgia, sing as they lead a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches on March 7, 2015.
Saul Loeb, AFP Via Getty Images
Rep. John Lewis , D-Ga., leads a rally in Selma, Ala., in 2013.
Rep. John Lewis , D-Ga., leads a rally in Selma, Ala., in 2013.
Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser
Congressman John Lewis stands on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Selma, Ala., during the Faith and Civil Rights Institute Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage.
Congressman John Lewis stands on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Selma, Ala., during the Faith and Civil Rights Institute Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage.
Albert Cesare, Montgomery Advertiser
From left, Foot soldiers Ruth Anthony, Helen Brooks, and Marcia McMilan Edwards lead the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Bridge Crossing Jubilee in commemoration of the 53rd anniversary of Bloody Sunday on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Selma, Ala.
From left, Foot soldiers Ruth Anthony, Helen Brooks, and Marcia McMilan Edwards lead the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Bridge Crossing Jubilee in commemoration of the 53rd anniversary of Bloody Sunday on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Selma, Ala.
Albert Cesare, Montgomery Advertiser
Reenactors lay down on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Bloody Sunday March reenactment in Selma, Ala., on Sunday March 3, 2019. Sunday is the 54th commemoration of the 1965 Bloody Sunday bridge crossing. As 'Bloody Sunday' in 1965 fought for voting rights, modern demonstrations continue to look at the challenges Black Americans face today.
Reenactors lay down on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Bloody Sunday March reenactment in Selma, Ala., on Sunday March 3, 2019. Sunday is the 54th commemoration of the 1965 Bloody Sunday bridge crossing. As 'Bloody Sunday' in 1965 fought for voting rights, modern demonstrations continue to look at the challenges Black Americans face today.
Mickey Welsh,Montgomery Advertiser
People on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Sunday March 1, 2020. It was the 55th anniversary of the Selma Bloody Sunday Bridge Crossing.
People on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Sunday March 1, 2020. It was the 55th anniversary of the Selma Bloody Sunday Bridge Crossing.
Mickey Welsh,Montgomery Advertiser
Marcus Sharp, left, and Justin Mayes lay rose petals on the path of civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis's casket on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Saturday, July 26, 2020. Lewis took part in 'Bloody Sunday,' acting as one of the civil rights leaders who led activists from Selma to Montgomery.' His casket was taken in horse-drawn carriage over the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the way to his funeral.
Marcus Sharp, left, and Justin Mayes lay rose petals on the path of civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis's casket on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Saturday, July 26, 2020. Lewis took part in 'Bloody Sunday,' acting as one of the civil rights leaders who led activists from Selma to Montgomery.' His casket was taken in horse-drawn carriage over the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the way to his funeral.
Jake Crandall, Montgomery Advertiser
The horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge Sunday, July 26, 2020 in Selma, Ala.
The horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge Sunday, July 26, 2020 in Selma, Ala.
Max Gersh, Montgomery Advertiser
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