7 March | ||
Search ON THIS DAY by date | |||||||
|
|
1965: Police attack Alabama marchers
State troopers and volunteer officers in the southern US state of Alabama have broken up a demonstration of black and white civil rights protesters, injuring at least 50 people.
They assaulted a group of about 500 demonstrators using tear gas, whips and sticks after Governor George Wallace ordered the planned march from Selma to the state capital Montgomery to be halted on the grounds of public safety. At least 10 of the injured have been taken to hospital with skull and limb fractures and suffering the effects of tear gas. They were stopped by 200 police this morning at the Edmund Pettus Bridge as they were heading east out of Selma on US Route 80.
As they were pushed back to the Browns Chapel Methodist Church area, some protesters threw bricks and bottles at police but were chased into their homes by troopers wielding sticks, riot guns, pistols and tear gas bombs. The streets were patrolled for an hour after the violence had subsided. Among the injured was John Lewis, the chairman of the Student Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC), who along with Hosea Williams, led the silent marchers from the Browns Chapel Church towards the outskirts of town. He told the New York Times: "Next time we march we may have to keep going when we get to Montgomery. We may have to on to Washington." One of the doctors at Selma's Good Samaritan Hospital said it looked as if there had been "a moderate disaster". Another hospital official said most of the injuries had been sustained by heavy blows. FBI agents will be interviewing the wounded and other witnesses tomorrow to establish if there are grounds for legal action against the officers involved. The protest march had been planned to highlight discriminatory practices in the state that prevented black people from registering to vote. It was also meant to commemorate the death on 17 February of Jimmie Lee Jackson who was shot by a state trooper on a civil rights march in Selma. There is widespread outrage at events in the city. Congressman William Ryan of New York said the Federal Government should send marshals, or even troops down to Alabama to protect the marchers. But Governor Wallace remains steadfast in his views saying: "These folks in Selma have made this a seven-day-a-week job but we can't give one inch. We're going to enforce state laws."
|
|
Stories From 7 Mar
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Search ON THIS DAY by date | |||||||
^^ back to top | |
Front Page | Years | Themes | Witness | |
©MMVIII | News Sources | Privacy & Cookies Policy |