A chronicle of Martin Luther King's (Oyelowo) campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson (Wilkinson) that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches Selma is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches initiated and directed by James Bevel and led by Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, and John Lewis.

2014 …was the 2014 historical drama Selma. It chronicles the 1965 civil rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., that resulted in passage of the Voting Rights Act. Selma was critically acclaimed, and DuVernay became the first African American woman to receive a Golden Globe nomination for best director.

Ava DuVernay It is directed by Ava DuVernay, the first Black woman to direct a film with a Best Picture nomination. She is a leader in the fight to bring more diversity into Hollywood, a major issue in the film making industry. Selma is the first major biopic of Martin Luther King.

The persistence of the protesters and the public support associated with the marches from Selma to Montgomery caused the Federal Government to take action. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law on August 6th.

In March 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. chose Selma as the starting point for his march to Montgomery, Alabama as this was perhaps the most racist region in the nation at the time and it was also the location where a noted civil rights advocate had been murdered.

So "Selma" is not historically accurate; it is, however, historically correct. It speaks a larger truth about the sociohistorical context, the events, and the relationships between African-Americans, particularly movement activists, private white citizens, and the U.S. government - local, state and federal.

Martin Luther King, Jr.David OyelowoCoretta Scott KingCarmen EjogoAnnie Lee CooperOprah WinfreyLyndon B. JohnsonTom WilkinsonGeorge C. WallaceTim RothMajor John CloudMichael Papajohn Selma/Characters

The first march took place on March 7, 1965, led by figures including Bevel and Amelia Boynton, but was ended by state troopers and county possemen, who charged on about 600 unarmed protesters with batons and tear gas after they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the direction of Montgomery.

God's helmet; Meaning:God's helmet; Beautiful view; Peace. Selma is a feminine name with many origins, most notably Old German, Celtic, and Arabic. As a Germanic title, Selma comes from Anselma and means “God's helmet,” carrying an air of divine protection.

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Fifty years ago, on March 7, 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery. They marched to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote - even in the face of a segregationist system that wanted to make it impossible.

On March 7, 1965, police and a citizen “posse” attacked marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, United States, an event that galvanized the Civil Rights Movement as “Bloody Sunday.”

The activists were protesting the denial of voting rights to African Americans as well as the murder of 26-year-old activist Jimmie Lee Jackson, who had been fatally shot in the stomach by police during a peaceful protest just days before.