On March 25, 1965, civil-rights marchers led by Martin Luther King Jr. reached the Alabama state capital of Montgomery. They had walked about 54 miles from Selma over several days. The marchers gathered at the state capitol to demand voting rights protections for Black citizens. Their arrival represented a victory after the brutality of “Bloody Sunday” earlier in the month. National media attention and public pressure helped spur Congress to act. The march is closely linked to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 later that year.
