Press Releases | Feb, 11 2015
In honor of Black History Month, a new exhibit by UT Austin’s Briscoe Center and the LBJ Presidential Library celebrates the 50th anniversaries of the civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
March to Freedom features rare photographs of the "Bloody Sunday" Selma-to-Montgomery march (March 7, 1965), documents, quotes and images that celebrate subsequent marches, and photos from the LBJ Library’s 2014 Civil Rights Summit.
Exhibit dates: February 21-April 12, 2015
March to Freedom is a photo exhibit that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Selma-Montgomery marches that occurred March 7-25, 1965, and the 50th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The exhibit features images from the collections of UT Austin’s Briscoe Center for American History (in particular the civil right photos of renowned photographer James "Spider" Martin) and select photos from the April 2014 Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library.
Through the words of Congressman John Lewis, former head of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC,) and through the camera of James "Spider" Martin, March to Freedom follows a determined and undaunted group of marchers, both black and white, as they try on three different occasions to take their cause to Montgomery and the steps of the Alabama Statehouse.
Their peaceful demonstrations attracted media coverage, particularly when they were met with violent opposition, which helped garner widespread support necessary for the passage of voting rights legislation. The Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights represent a pivotal moment in the modern civil rights movement which opened the door for the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965.
In April 2014, the Civil Rights Movement was commemorated at the LBJ Presidential Library in a three-day event attended by Congressman Lewis, Julian Bond, Andrew Young, and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, and President Barack Obama.
