Original Data Provided By: Omid Kashan, DM, David McCandless Karl Webster, Dr Stephanie Starling Subtitles Compiled By: BreadCodes
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TRUE King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10th 1964. Nobel Prize
TRUE Members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church on Sunday September 15th, 1963. Four little girls were killed, 22 people were injured. Wikipedia: 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
TRUE Annie Lee Cooper was denied the right to vote on her 5th attempt because she couldn't name the 67 county judges in Alabama, a real requirement meant to keep blacks from registering. Slate
TRUE-ISH Johnson wasn't a fan of King or his methods. Still, some argue that Johnson's role as something of an adversary in the movie is inaccurate, that he was considerably more supportive than shown. White was indeed a trusted aide. Guardian Time Zimbio
TRUE-ISH Although some have said the meeting wasn't as confrontational in real life as it was portrayed in the movie, this was pretty much exactly how the conversation went. King wanted a voting rights bill, Johnson promised to do it eventually but had more politically expedient priorities. Guardian
TRUE After King's conversation with Johnson, he headed to Selma with Nash, Abernathy, Young & Orange. Slate
TRUE James Bevel was a member of the SCLC, & was at King's side in Selma. Slate
TRUE Black leaders checked in for a night at the whites-only Hotel Albert, where a leader of the National States' Rights Party knocked him to floor & kicked him. CRMVET
TRUE Hoover worked tirelessly to discredit King, attempting to link him to the Communist party, tracking him & tapping his phone. The FBI threatened to leak tapes that suggest King was having affairs to the public. Slate
TRUE Coretta Scott King received many phone calls, usually threatening her husband's life. Naturally she was concerned, but has said she felt they were part of something greater than themselves. Wikipedia: Coretta Scott King
TRUE Mahalia Jackson was a gospel singer. She travelled with King & the SCLC, & sang before King's 'I Have a Dream' speech. King was enamoured by her voice. Zimbio
TRUE Richie Jean Jackson opened her home to the Selma protesters, including KING & SCLC activists. Her house became an unofficial HQ for the movement. Zimbio
TRUE There was major tension between the SCLC & the SNCC. SNCC prioritised grassroots organising, & didn't trust the SCLC's highly visual attention-grabbing tactics. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE The Selma Voting Rights Campaign officially began Jan 2nd 1965, when King gave a speech at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, encouraging people to dem & their right to vote. CRMVET
We couldn't find a source for this. We couldn't find a source for this, but from records of King's speeches it sounds like the kind of thing he'd say.
TRUE In his autobiography James Forman describes the movement's tactics - Sheriff Jim Clark could be counted on to incite violence against the protesters, thus drawing sympathy for the movement. Slate
TRUE King led over 100 protesters to the county courthouse in non-violent demonstration. Slate
TRUE The protest was a peaceful sit-in. Slate
TRUE-ISH Cooper joined the sit-in, & hit Clark after he twisted her arm & threw her to the ground. Jimmie Lee Jackson's family weren't actually present there, but were part of a march in nearby Marion, where Cager was hit over the head by a state trooper. Slate NY Daily News NBC
TRUE King was arrested along with dozens of others. He made a conscious effort to be arrested for publicity, & refused to post bond. Slate CRMVET
TRUE Gov. Wallace was already known as a tyrannical bigot, & was seen as out of control by Johnson & his advisors. Slate
TRUE-ISH Although we can't find a source for what they talked about in jail, King did suffer moments of despondency during his civil rights work. Huffington Post
TRUE Malcolm X responded to King being attacked in the hotel by issuing a threat against violent racists. He was invited to Browm Chapel A.M.E. to give a talk, which SCLC initially wanted to block. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Coretta Scott King met with Malcolm X in secret. In a 1988 interview, she described the conversation just as it was in the movie, & said it made her feel optimistic that he & King could work together. Slate
TRUE-ISH We don't know if King & his wife had this exact conversation while he was in jail, but King was suspicious of Malcolm X & deplored his violent approach. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Wallace had plans to bring the movement down. He sanctioned extra violence against the black protesters, authorized by J. Edgar Hoover, then FBI director. King had bailed himself out of jail at this point. Slate Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE The police turned off the streetlights to conceal their violence from reporters, & attacked. Jimmie Lee Jackson, along with his mother & grandfather, fled the scene. Slate
TRUE-ISH The family fled but the police found them, beat Cager Lee. Jimmie Lee Jackson stepped in & was shot by state trooper JB Fowler. Jackson lived for 8 days before dying of an infection following the shooting. Fowler was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in 2010. Zimbio
TRUE King did visit Jimmie Lee Jackson & his family in the hospital. LCRM project
TRUE Jackson's death inspired a milestone speech from King, sparking the first Selma to Montgomery march. Slate
TRUE King & the SCLC & SNCC met frequently for strategy meetings during the Selma action. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE-ISH King informed Johnson of his intention to use Selma to bring attention to injustices in black voter registration. While it is contested whether Johnson was in support of the march or not, he did delay the legislation King wanted. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
We couldn't find a source for this. There were numerous threats to King's life, but we couldn't find a source for the details of such a conversation between White & King's people.
TRUE-ISH King met with Johnson for an hour & a half to discuss legislation, but available details of the meeting aren't extensive & we don't know exactly what was said. Miller Center
TRUE-ISH Johnson worked closely with Hoover as FBI director & they would have met often to discuss King & the Civil Rights Movement, although there is fierce controversy over whether or not Johnson backed Hoover's vendetta against King. FBI The Atlantic Politico
TRUE Hoover tracked King & tapped his phone. Those tapes are sealed by court order until 2027, but it's said that at least two suggest King was having affairs, & the FBI threatened to leak them to the public. The FBI did mail incriminating tapes to King's wife. Slate Washington Post
We couldn't find a source for this. King did stay away the first day of the march, although we don't know if it was to be with Coretta specifically. Wikipedia: James Beval
TRUE Wallace ordered Highway Patrol to use 'whatever measures are necessary to prevent a march'. Leaders like Bevel attended workshops & learnt nonviolence techniques, passing them on to protesters. Clark put out a call for all white males over 21 to be deputised ready to fight. Wikipedia: James Beval Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE SNCC had reservations about the march, especially when they found out King wouldn't be there on the first day. They allowed Lewis to participate, though, & provided logistical support. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE John Lewis & Hosea Williams led more than 500 marchers across Edmund Pettus Bridge. Slate
TRUE Alabama state troopers awaited the protesters on the other side of the bridge. Slate
TRUE-ISH Footage from the march was broadcast on CBS but we don't know if Bayard called Young. Slate
TRUE Troopers gave a warning to disband. March leaders asked to talk, but were silenced. Troopers on horseback used nightsticks & tear gas to attack the protesters. Slate Guardian
TRUE-ISH Millions of people viewed events on CBS that day. We don't know if King watched but we presume so. Slate
TRUE Amelia Boynton was assaulted by the troopers. A photograph of her knocked to the ground was printed in internationally. Slate
TRUE Millions of people viewed events on CBS that day. Slate
We couldn't find a source for this. We can't find a source to state whether Lewis & Abernathy personally helped Boynton, although this type of cameraderie was not unusual among the movement's supporters & leaders. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE The marchers returned to the chapel to reconvene. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE-ISH Although we don't know if this specific conversation happened, we do know the leaders discouraged all violence. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE King led 2000 people in a second, symbolic march across Edmund Pettus Bridge in response to Bloody Sunday. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE King put out a call for supporters, especially ministers of all faiths, to come to Selma. UUDB
TRUE James Reeb, a Universalist Minister from Boston, had seen the violence of Bloody Sunday on the news, & answered King's call to ministers of all faiths to come to Selma in support. His wife didn't want him to go. UUDB
TRUE While Judge Johnson was sympathetic, he issued a restraining order against the march until proper procedure had been followed in the form of court hearings. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
We couldn't find a source for this. We don't have records of any such conversation between the president & his aide.
TRUE Doar met with King at Jackson's house, urged him to postpone the march. SCLC leadership told Doar that wasn't going to happen. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Archibishop Iakovos marched arm-in-arm with King from Selma - a photo of that moment made it to Life Magazine's front cover. Liuzzo & Reeb were there too, plus a bunch of other white people standing alongside the black protesters. Zimbio
TRUE A considerably minority of the protesters were white, & the gathering included ministers from many faiths. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE King led a symbolic march across the bridge after the events of Bloody Sunday. On the bridge, the marchers kneeled to pray. Guardian
TRUE King turned the marchers back. They needed federal protection if they were to continue safely to Montgomery, & didn't want to break their restraining order & risk losing favour with a judge sympathetic to their cause. Guardian Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Florida governor LeRoy Collins had suggested a compromise between Doar's urging not to march at all & the movement's insistence on marching. It was his idea to lead protesters symbolically to the bridge before turning around. Only a handful were let in on the plan, & many participants were confused & let down. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE King wrote numerous letters to his wife. The King Centre
TRUE-ISH Reeb & two other men were attacked by 3 white men & beaten with clubs, after they were seen eating at an integrated diner in Selma. Reeb died two days later, not at the scene as portrayed in the movie. Zimbio
TRUE Seven Selma activists sat-in at the White House & were arrested. Several others tried but were stopped. Johnson wasn't impressed, but the activists told him to act faster if he wanted to prevent such inconveniences. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
We couldn't find a source for this. We couldn't find a source for this conversation, but we know there were discussions on tactics between the various leaders of the movement. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE King went to court to win the right for his supporters to march safely from Selma to Montgomery in protest of unlawful restrictions on black voter registration. Stanford
TRUE Judge Frank Johnson overturned Gov. Wallace's prohibition of the march. Zimbio
TRUE A 'Stars for Freedom' concert was held at Montgomery. Performers included Nina Simone, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr. & many others. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Johnson tried to work with Wallace so as not to upset the State's Rights movement, but eventually went over his head & committed to protecting the marchers. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Johnson met with Wallace to urge him to use the military at his disposal to protect the marchers. His response isn't favourable. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE Johnson convened a joint session of Congress & demanded they pass his new Voting Rights Bill. Wikipedia: Selma to Montgomery Marches
TRUE John Doar was a lawyer & assistant attorney general for civil rights from 1960 to 1967. He was in Montgomery the day the march arrived there to protect King. He advised the movement on safety. Zimbio
TRUE 8000 people completed the march from Selma to Montgomery. They marched with military protection. Slate
TRUE Titles are all accurate. Many of the activists had successful careers. Some were murdered. Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to congress days after the march. Slate Zimbio NYTimes Wikipedia: Jimmie Lee Jackson
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Original Data Provided By: Omid Kashan, DM, David McCandless Karl Webster, Dr Stephanie Starling Subtitles Compiled By: BreadCodes