Selma's 'Bloody Sunday': What to know about the march for civil rights

A peaceful march in protest of racial injustice set out from Selma, Ala., on March 7, 1965, but was met with violent resistance from local law enforcement in an event that became known as "Bloody Sunday."

Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace opposed the march and ordered state troopers to put a stop to it. Law enforcement deployed tear gas and used clubs and to attack the marchers. The events of "Bloody Sunday" were captured on television cameras, shocking and outraging the American public. Over the next two days, demonstrations in support of the marchers were held in dozens of cities across the country.