Feb. 5, 1965 - Dr. Martin Luther King was released from jail in Selma, Ala., today and announced that he would fly to Washington Monday to ask President Johnson and Congress for new legislation to guarantee the voting rights of Negroes.
At the same time, he announced an acceleration of the voter registration drive that he and other Negro leaders began in Selma almost three weeks ago. He said the campaign was ready to spread to other “Black Belt” counties and to the large cities of Alabama.
More than 500 Negroes were arrested in Selma today as they marched on the Dallas County Courthouse to urge the county board of registrars to open its doors and start processing applicants.
Federal District Judge Daniel Thomas ordered the board yesterday to relax its literacy test and to speed the registration of Negroes. The board meets two days a month. The judge said he would name a Federal referee to oversee registration if the board did not process by July all who were eligible and desired to register.
Dr. King said the Negroes wanted the office to be open every day and some evenings to handle a backlog of Negro applicants.
The arrests today brought to more than 3,300 the total in the campaign so far. The Negroes, young and old, have been flooding nearby prison work camps. All but about 200 had been released before the arrests today, Sheriff James Clark said.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Commentaires