The 1965 march did not end symbolically. It ended in the streets of the state capital, directly in front of political power.
A 54-mile route
The Selma-to-Montgomery march followed U.S. Highway 80 toward the capital after earlier attempts were met with violence and obstruction.
The city becomes the destination
By March 25, the crowd had swelled dramatically as marchers entered Montgomery and moved down Dexter Avenue toward the Capitol.
More than a photo of the steps
Speakers included major civil-rights leaders. The march helped create the national pressure that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
How to read the city today
The route makes Montgomery an unusually physical place to study voting-rights history. The Capitol, Dexter Avenue and St. Jude are not replicas; they occupy the landscape where the march concluded.