January 1965

In Dallas County, Alabama (Selma), despite a Black population majority, only 335 of 15,000 eligible Black residents were registered to vote by early 1965. County registrars used literacy tests, arbitrary rejections, and office hours of only two days per month to block registration. Applicants were required to read and interpret obscure passages of the Alabama constitution.

Martin Luther King Jr. announced a campaign to register Black voters in Selma, Alabama, where only 335 of 15,115 eligible Black voters were registered despite Selma being the Dallas County seat. Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark's aggressive tactics against would-be registrants made Selma a target for demonstrating federal voting rights legislation's necessity.

MLK announced a campaign to register Black voters in Selma, Alabama, where only 335 of 15,115 eligible Black voters were registered. Sheriff Jim Clark's aggressive tactics against would-be registrants made Selma a deliberate target for demonstrating the need for federal voting rights legislation.

Dallas County, Alabama registered only 335 of 15,115 voting-age Black residents versus 9,542 of 14,400 eligible white residents. The registrar was open two days a month and applied inconsistent literacy tests. This documented disparity was cited in congressional hearings for the Voting Rights Act.

As the Selma campaign began, Dallas County Alabama registered only 335 of 15,115 voting-age Black residents, compared to 9,542 of 14,400 eligible white residents. The county registrar was open only two days a month and applied deliberately inconsistent literacy tests. This documented disparity was cited in congressional hearings leading to the Voting Rights Act.

Before the 1965 uprising, the Los Angeles Police Department under Chief William Parker had documented patterns of brutality in Black neighborhoods. Parker had publicly compared Black residents to 'monkeys in a zoo' in 1965. The McCone Commission confirmed 'deep and long-standing schism between a substantial portion of the Negro community and the Police Department' as a primary cause of the unrest.

Before the 1965 uprising, LAPD Chief William Parker had documented patterns of brutality in Black neighborhoods. Parker publicly compared Black residents to 'monkeys in a zoo.' The McCone Commission confirmed 'deep schism between a substantial portion of the Negro community and the Police Department' as a primary cause of the Watts unrest.