Located in the historic district of Selma, Alabama at the foot of the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge which was the scene of "Bloody Sunday," the Museum is the cornerstone of the contemporary struggle for voting rights and human dignity.

1012 Water Avenue

Selma, AL 36701

Phone: (334) 418-0800

www.nationalvotingrightsmuseum.org

Office Hours:

Monday - Friday        9:00AM to 5:00PM

Saturday                  10:00AM to 3:00PM

Sunday                    by Appointment Only

The struggle to gain voting rights did not begin or end at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965; it began with the birth of our nation and continues today in efforts to remove all barriers to voting.  The National Voting Rights Museum & Institute, the only facility of its kind in the world, opened its doors in 1993, as a permanent memorial to the struggle to obtain voting rights for disenfranchised African Americans.  The mission of the Museum is to collect, preserve and display artifacts and exhibits which document and portray the history of voting rights in America. 

Voting is the cornerstone of the democratic society of which we all take part.  It is one of the most important gains acquired during the Civil Rights Movement.  The National Voting Rights Museum & Institute offers America and the world the opportunity to learn the lessons of the past to assure we will not make the same mistakes in the 21st century and beyond.  There is no one place where the past and present struggles and future possibilities can be studied, felt and remembered like that of the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute.  The National  Voting Rights Museum serves as a living reminder that we stand on the shoulders of giants

The Selma Movement, A Historical Look

The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March of 1965 is considered one of the most significant protest demonstrations of the modern civil rights movement.

This movement, which would change the nation, originated in the Southern town of Selma, Alabama.  Selma, the county seat of Dallas County, was considered more progressive than other areas of the Deep South in that two percent of the African Americans had managed to register to vote by the 1960s.  For several years the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) assisted by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) continued to educate and register African American voters.  However, only a small number of African Americans were allowed to register. Voter registration efforts continued for several years along with mass meetings, demonstrations, and finally, a plan to march to the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama to formally protest voter discrimination.

On Sunday, March 7, 1965 the first march set out from Brown Chapel AME Church toward Montgomery, but was turned back just past the Edmund Pettus Bridge when marchers were brutally attacked by law enforcement officers.  Two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a second march from Brown Chapel toward Montgomery, but peacefully turned around at the “point” of confrontation” over the Pettus Bridge.  On March 21, 1965 a third march under the protection of the National Guard, left Brown Chapel for Montgomery and five days later reached the State Capital.

The media coverage brought national attention to the struggle, adversity, violence and determination of the Selma protestors.  As a result, Congress rushed to enact the legislation that would guarantee voting rights for all Americans. 

The Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965.

Adapted from Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and

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This page was last updated: June 25, 2009

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