Selma to Montgomery – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

The National Guard and protesters stand off outside of a downtown jail in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

June 17, 2025

The use of federal troops to quell Los Angeles protests recalls militarized law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement

Justin Randolph, Texas A&M University

During Jim Crow segregation, political leaders used domestic military power to preserve the interests of racial authoritarians.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., left, and attorney Fred Gray, whom King called ‘the brilliant young Negro who later became the chief counsel for the protest movement,’ at a political rally in Tuskegee, Alabama, April 29, 1966. AP Photo/Jack Thornell

July 5, 2022

Fred Gray, the ‘chief counsel for the protest movement,’ to get Medal of Freedom for his civil rights work

Jonathan Entin, Case Western Reserve University

When Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting in the front of a bus in Montgomery, Fred Gray was her lawyer. Now he’s being honored for a lifetime of civil rights advocacy.

John Lewis, right, marched with Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for equality. Steve Schapiro / Contributor/GettyImages

July 24, 2020

John Lewis traded the typical college experience for activism, arrests and jail cells

Jelani M. Favors, Clayton State University

Though he had a speech impediment and came from humble beginnings, John Lewis went on to become a giant of the civil rights movement.

A March 21, 1965 file photo shows Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights marchers. AP Photo/File

March 21, 2017

What would MLK do if he were alive today: Six essential reads

Kalpana Jain, The Conversation

Martin Luther King Jr. led one of the most successful, nonviolent resistance movements in American history. Here’s a roundup of key coverage from our archive.

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