Selma

Julie Robinson Belafonte (1928–2024), actress and activist 

Julie Robinson Belafonte was an actress and activist best known as the longtime wife of . 

John Lewis (1940-2020), civil rights legend & U.S. Rep. from Georgia

John Lewis , the long-serving U.S. representative from Georgia who was one of the most prominent leaders of the American civil rights movement, died Friday, July 17, his family announced in a statement.

C.T. Vivian (1924–2020), civil rights leader who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. C.T. Vivian was one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, who worked alongside to organize sit-ins and marches in the pursuit of equality.

Rev. Joseph Lowery (1921–2020), civil rights leader & MLK colleague

Rev. Joseph Lowery was a leader of the American civil rights movement who cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) along with . He also helped organize the pivotal Montgomery bus boycott.

Frederick D. Reese (1929–2018), civil rights activist led Selma’s “Courageous Eight”

Frederick D. Reese, early civil rights activist and leader of Selma’s “Courageous Eight,” died Thursday, April 5, 2018, according to the Associated Press. He was 88.

Ozell Sutton (1925–2015)

Ozell Sutton, a longtime civil rights activist who marched alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 90.

The Lives Martin Luther King Touched

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired generations in the United States and around the world. A martyr for and the struggle, King was a voice for peace in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.

MLK: Our God is Marching On (How Long, Not Long)

On March 25, 1965, the  Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a crowd of 25,000 marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in support of voting rights for African-Americans. At the conclusion of the march, King delivered this speech, familiarly referred to as "How Long, Not Long." The speech was defiant at times, referencing the violence that beset the movement at the time. In fact, a previous march on March 7 was met with a violent response from state troopers who beat and gassed marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. King's speech makes it clear that the movement cannot be dissuaded after coming so far, encouraging the people to keep up the struggle.