Today marks the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1965 march held in Selma, Alabama, where 600 peaceful demonstrators were viciously attacked while advocating for voting rights and protesting the murder of 26-year-old activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by police.
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NewsOne reports that the terrifying day centered around the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where Alabama state troopers beat unarmed marchers with billy clubs and bull whips and sprayed them with tear gas. The brutality of the uninhibited racial violence led to its name and was documented by journalists and photographers, becoming a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Several key figures were present and suffered brutal attacks amid their fight for justice. Congressman John Lewis, then a young leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was among those severely beaten and suffered a skull fracture. Undeterred, he continued to champion civil rights and continued a legacy of making âgood troubleâ up until his death.
Similarly, Martin Luther Kingâs trusted aide, Hosea Williams, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), also led the march alongside Lewis. He, too, was violently assaulted by police.
Todayâs milestone anniversary comes at a crucial time as some states adopt measures to restrict the teaching of Black history, ban books, and impose election changes that disenfranchise voters of color.
Luckily, some of Hollywood has documented its history and told the story of what truly happened that day, and we pray that it continues.
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See how Hollywood told the story of Bloody Sunday below.
Eyes on the Prize (1987)
In 1987, PBS released Eyes on the Prize, a documentary recounting the Civil Rights movement. The âBridge to Freedomâ episode, particularly, detailed Bloody Sunday and incorporated actual footage of the attack on marchers. It also highlighted Americaâs reaction to the footage that âlooked like a war.â
Selma (2014)
Ava DuVernayâs Selma is arguably the most well-known cinematic portrayal of Bloody Sunday.
The film details what happened in Selma and the political maneuvering behind the Voting Rights Act, starring David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah as activist Annie Lee Cooper, and Stephan James as John Lewis.
The movieâs depiction of Bloody Sunday was hauntingly realistic as it showed the marchers being brutally beaten by law enforcement with up-close shots and blood spatter, and the reaction of millions of Americans watching.
In 2015, Duvernay told 60 Minutes that while it may have been hard to watch, it felt like poetic justice filming the movie on the bridge that bears the name of a Confederate General and KKK Grand Dragon.
âI took great pleasure directing scenes on this bridge,â she told journalist Bob Simon. âI imagined [Pettus] turning over in his grave a little bit [and him] thinking âwhere did it all go wrong? This was not supposed to happen.’â
Selma was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and won an Oscar for Best Original Song for âGloryâ by Common and John Legend.
Oprahâs Selma 50th Anniversary Special (2015)
In 2015, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Oprah Winfrey hosted a televised special featuring civil rights leaders, activists, and artists. The special lasted throughout January and highlighted how the legacy of the Selma marches still influences todayâs fight for equality. It also included an Oprahâs Master Class on John Lewis, who offered a powerful firsthand account of Bloody Sunday.
âI was the first person to be hit,â said Lewis. âI was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick. I thought I saw death. I thought I was going to die on that bridge, I thought it was my last non-violent protest.â
John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)
The late Congressman John Lewis recounted his Bloody Sunday experience in the 2020 documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble, directed by Dawn Porter. The film weaves together archival footage and interviews with Lewis as he reflects on that day on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and his lifelong commitment to justice. According to Porter, Lewis remained stoic throughout filming and, at times, comforted her as she became overwhelmed by the subject matter. In the documentary, Lewis remarked on a moment after Bloody Sunday when President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a presidential address and invoked âWe Shall Overcomeâ, the civil rights movement theme song.
