65-558: Perry County may refer to: United States [ edit ] Perry County, Alabama Perry County, Arkansas Perry County, Illinois Perry County, Indiana Perry County, Kentucky Perry County, Mississippi Perry County, Missouri Perry County, Ohio Perry County, Pennsylvania Perry County, Tennessee Australia [ edit ] Perry County, New South Wales See also [ edit ] Perry (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
130-510: A posse of 200 deputies, some of whom were members of Ku Klux Klan chapters or the National States' Rights Party . Possemen were armed with electric cattle-prods. Some were mounted on horseback and carried long leather whips they used to lash people on foot. Clark and Chief Baker were known to spar over jurisdiction. Baker's police patrolled the city except for the block of the county courthouse, which Clark and his deputies controlled. Outside
195-420: A 52.5% obesity rate in 2024. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 10,591 people living in the county. 68.7% were Black or African American , 30.3% White , 0.3% Asian , 0.2% Native American , 0.2% of some other race and 0.4% of two or more races . 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of the census of 2000 , there were 11,861 people, 4,333 households, and 3,046 families living in
260-468: A 54 mi (87 km) march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. Jackson was the only male wage-earner of his household, which lived in extreme poverty . Jackson's grandfather, mother, wife, and children were left with no source of income. During a public meeting at Zion United Methodist Church in Marion on February 28 after Jackson's death, emotions were running high. James Bevel , as director of
325-546: A Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston. The third march, which started on March 21, was escorted by the Alabama National Guard under federal control, the FBI and federal marshals (segregationist Governor George Wallace refused to protect the protesters). Thousands of marchers averaged 10 mi (16 km) a day along U.S. Route 80 (US 80), reaching Montgomery on March 24. The following day, 25,000 people staged
390-458: A conscious effort to get arrested, for the benefit of publicity. On February 1, King and Ralph Abernathy refused to cooperate with Chief Baker's traffic directions on the way to the courthouse, calculating that Baker would arrest them, putting them in the Selma city jail run by Baker's police, rather than the county jail run by Clark's deputies. Once processed, King and Abernathy refused to post bond. On
455-479: A demonstration on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol . The violence of "Bloody Sunday" and Reeb's murder resulted in a national outcry, and the marches were widely discussed in national and international news media. The protesters campaigned for a new federal voting rights law to enable African Americans to register and vote without harassment. President Lyndon B. Johnson seized the opportunity and held
520-456: A hindrance to black liberation. Dr. King later said that he thought this was an attack on him. But Malcolm told Coretta Scott King that he thought to aid the campaign by warning white people what "the alternative" would be if Dr. King failed in Alabama. Bellamy recalled that Malcolm told her he would begin recruiting in Alabama for his Organization of Afro-American Unity later that month (Malcolm
585-511: A historic, nationally televised joint session of Congress on March 15, asking lawmakers to pass what is now known as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He enacted it on August 6, removing obstacles for Blacks to register en masse. The march route is memorialized and designated as the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail . At the turn of the 20th century, the Alabama state legislature passed
650-409: A household in the county was $ 20,200, and the median income for a family was $ 26,150. Males had a median income of $ 26,272 versus $ 16,839 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 10,948. About 31.20% of families and 35.40% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.90% of those under age 18 and 25.80% of those age 65 or over. Perry County Circuit Clerk Perry County
715-529: A legal holiday, every second Monday of November. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 724 square miles (1,880 km ), of which 720 square miles (1,900 km ) is land and 4.2 square miles (11 km ) (0.6%) is water. The county boasts a diverse geography, with the southern half of the county being located in the Gulf Coastal Plain region, and
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#1732845133493780-565: A march to the courthouse in Marion , the county seat of neighboring Perry County , to protest the arrest of James Orange. State officials had received orders to target Vivian, and a line of Alabama state troopers waited for the marchers at the Perry County courthouse. Officials had turned off all of the nearby street lights, and state troopers rushed at the protesters, attacking them. Protesters Jimmie Lee Jackson , his grandfather and his mother fled
845-473: A new constitution that effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites by requirements for payment of a poll tax and passing a literacy test and comprehension of the constitution. Subjective application of the laws effectively closed most blacks out of politics. Selma is a major town and the seat of Dallas County , part of the Alabama Black Belt with a majority-black population. In 1961,
910-491: A talk by Malcolm X to 3,000 students at the Tuskegee Institute , and invited him to address a mass meeting at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to kick off the protests on the morning of February 4. When Malcolm X arrived, SCLC staff initially wanted to block his talk, but he assured them that he did not intend to undermine their work. During his address, Malcolm X warned the protesters about " House Negroes " who, he said, were
975-502: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Perry County, Alabama Perry County is a county located in the Black Belt region in the central part of the U.S. state of Alabama . As of the 2020 census , the population was 8,511. Its county seat is Marion . The county was established in 1819 and is named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode Island and
1040-767: Is home to Perry Lakes Park, part of the Talladega National Forest , the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame located at Judson College , and Marion Military Institute . 32°38′09″N 87°17′31″W / 32.63583°N 87.29194°W / 32.63583; -87.29194 Selma to Montgomery marches SCLC members DCVL members SNCC members State of Alabama Dallas County City of Selma City of Birmingham City of Montgomery City of Selma City of Tuscaloosa City of Tuskegee Other localities The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches , held in 1965, along
1105-427: Is nonviolent; not everybody who registers is supposed to be nonviolent." The incident between Clark and Cooper was a media sensation, putting the campaign on the front page of The New York Times . When asked if she would do it again, Cooper told Jet , "I try to be nonviolent, but I just can't say I wouldn't do the same thing all over again if they treat me brutish like they did this time." Dr. King decided to make
1170-454: The Birmingham church bombing on September 15, 1963, which killed four black girls, black students in Selma began sit-ins at local lunch counters to protest segregation; they were physically attacked and arrested. More than 300 were arrested in two weeks of protests, including SNCC chairman John Lewis . On October 7, 1963, one of two days during the month when residents were allowed to go to
1235-512: The Edmund Pettus Bridge in the direction of Montgomery. The event became known as Bloody Sunday . Law enforcement beat Boynton unconscious, and the media publicized worldwide a picture of her lying wounded on the bridge. The second march took place two days later but King cut it short as a federal court issued a temporary injunction against further marches. That night, an anti-civil rights group murdered civil rights activist James Reeb ,
1300-702: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) failed as local White officials arrested the organizers and otherwise harassed Blacks wishing to register to vote. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally ended segregation but the situation in Selma changed little. The DCVL then invited Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the activists of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to amplify
1365-534: The United States Navy . As of 2020, Perry County was the only county in Alabama, and one of 40 in the United States, not to have access to any wired broadband connections. In 1935, a sharecropper called Joe Spinner Johnson was organizing sharecroppers into a union. His landlord called him away from his job, and gave him up to a gang of whites. They tied him up, beat him, and took him to Selma , where he
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#17328451334931430-626: The Voting Rights Act , a landmark federal achievement of the civil rights movement . Since the late 19th century, Southern state legislatures had passed and maintained a series of Jim Crow laws that had disenfranchised the millions of African Americans across the South and enforced racial segregation . The initial voter registration drive, started in 1963 by the African-American Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) and
1495-538: The 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama , to the state capital of Montgomery . The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the desire of African-American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote , in defiance of segregationist repression; they were part of a broader voting rights movement underway in Selma and throughout the American South . By highlighting racial injustice, they contributed to passage that year of
1560-1045: The Boynton family ( Amelia , Sam, and son Bruce), Rev. L. L. Anderson, J. L. Chestnut , and Marie Foster , the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) tried to register black citizens during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their efforts were blocked by state and local officials, the White Citizens' Council , and the Ku Klux Klan . By the 1960s, county officials and the Citizens' Council used such tactics as restricted registration hours; economic pressure, including threatening people's jobs, firing them, evicting people from leased homes, and economic boycotts of black-owned businesses; and violence against blacks who tried to register. The Society of Saint Edmund , an order of Catholics committed to alleviating poverty and promoting civil rights, were
1625-535: The DCVL. In mid-June, Bernard was beaten and almost killed by Klansmen determined to prevent blacks from voting. When the Lafayettes returned to college in the fall, SNCC organizers Prathia Hall and Worth Long carried on the work despite arrests, beatings, and death threats. When 32 black school teachers applied at the county courthouse to register as voters, they were immediately fired by the all-white school board. After
1690-494: The Klan there was so intense from previous violence and murders that blacks would not support a nonviolent campaign in great number, even after Dr. King made a personal appearance on March 1. Overall more than 3,000 people were arrested in protests between January 1 and February 7, but blacks achieved fewer than 100 new registered voters. In addition, hundreds of people were injured or blacklisted by employers due to their participation in
1755-766: The North and West also mounted protests. Solidarity pickets began circling in front of the White House late into the night. After the assault on Dr. King by the white supremacist in January, black nationalist leader Malcolm X had sent an open telegram to George Lincoln Rockwell , stating: "if your present racist agitation against our people there in Alabama causes physical harm ... you and your KKK friends will be met with maximum physical retaliation from those of us who ... believe in asserting our right to self-defense by any means necessary ." Fay Bellamy and Silas Norman attended
1820-595: The Oval Office visit, King reported that Johnson planned to deliver his message "very soon". Throughout that February, King, SCLC staff, and members of Congress met for strategy sessions at the Selma, Alabama home of Richie Jean Jackson . In addition to actions in Selma, marches and other protests in support of voting rights were held in neighboring Perry , Wilcox , Marengo , Greene , and Hale counties. Attempts were made to organize in Lowndes County , but fear of
1885-546: The Selma voting rights movement for SCLC, called for a march from Selma to Montgomery to talk to Governor George Wallace directly about Jackson's death, and to ask him if he had ordered the State Troopers to turn off the lights and attack the marchers. Bevel strategized that this would focus the anger and pain of the people of Marion and Selma toward a nonviolent goal, as many were so outraged they wanted to retaliate with violence. The marchers also hoped to bring attention to
1950-416: The White House announced that it would urge Congress to enact a voting rights bill during the current session and that the vice-president and Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach would meet with King in the following week. On February 9, King met with Attorney General Katzenbach, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and White House aides before having a brief, seven-minute session with President Johnson. Following
2015-553: The Wilby Theatre or the Selmont Drive-in theater and eat at the 25¢ hamburger stand were both beaten and arrested. On July 6, 1964, one of the two registration days that month, John Lewis led 50 black citizens to the courthouse, but County Sheriff Jim Clark arrested them all instead of allowing them to apply to vote. On July 9, 1964, Judge James Hare issued an injunction forbidding any gathering of three or more people under
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2080-497: The campaign and register en masse. When they refused Sheriff Clark's orders to disperse at the courthouse, an ugly scene commenced. Clark's posse beat the teachers away from the door, but they rushed back only to be beaten again. The teachers retreated after three attempts, and marched to a mass meeting where they were celebrated as heroes by the black community. On January 25, U.S. District Judge Daniel Thomas issued rules requiring that at least 100 people must be permitted to wait at
2145-454: The campaign. DCLV activists became increasingly wary of SCLC's protests, preferring to wait and see if Judge Thomas' ruling of February 4 would make a long-term difference. SCLC was less concerned with Dallas County's immediate registration figures, and primarily focused on creating a public crisis that would make a voting rights bill the White House's number one priority. James Bevel and C. T. Vivian both led dramatic nonviolent confrontations at
2210-460: The city limits, Clark and his volunteer posse were in complete control in the county. The Selma Voting Rights Campaign officially started on January 2, 1965, when King addressed a mass meeting in Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in defiance of the anti-meeting injunction. The date had been chosen because Sheriff Clark was out of town, and Chief Baker had stated he would not enforce the injunction. Over
2275-626: The city's 30-man police force. Baker believed that the most effective method of undermining civil rights protests was to de-escalate them and deny them publicity, as Police Chief Laurie Pritchett had done against the Albany Movement in Georgia. He earned what was described as a grudging respect from activists. The hardline of segregation was represented by Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark , who used violence and repression to maintain Jim Crow. He commanded
2340-462: The continued violations of their Constitutional rights by marching to Montgomery. Dr. King agreed with Bevel's plan of the march, which they both intended to symbolize a march for full voting rights. They were to ask Governor Wallace to protect black registrants. SNCC had severe reservations about the march, especially when they heard that King would not be present. They permitted John Lewis to participate, and SNCC provided logistical support, such as
2405-499: The county courthouse. Their cases were handled by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund . On January 20, President Johnson gave his inaugural address but did not mention voting rights. Up to this point, the overwhelming majority of registrants and marchers were sharecroppers, blue-collar workers, and students. On January 22, Frederick Reese , a black schoolteacher who was also DCVL President, finally convinced his colleagues to join
2470-409: The county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6.2 people/km ). There were 5,406 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 68.38% Black or African American, 30.86% White, 0.08% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Nearly 0.86% of
2535-475: The courthouse in the second week of February. Selma students organized themselves after the SCLC leaders were arrested. King told his staff on February 10 that "to get the bill passed, we need to make a dramatic appeal through Lowndes and other counties because the people of Selma are tired." By the end of the month, 300 blacks were registered in Selma, compared to 9500 whites. On February 18, 1965, C. T. Vivian led
2600-595: The courthouse to apply to register to vote, SNCC's James Forman and the DCVL mobilized more than 300 blacks from Dallas County to line up at the voter registration office in what was called a "Freedom Day". Supporting them were national figures: author James Baldwin and his brother David, and comedian Dick Gregory and his wife Lillian (she was later arrested for picketing with SNCC activists and local supporters). SNCC members who tried to bring water to African Americans waiting in line were arrested, as were those who held signs saying "Register to Vote". After waiting all day in
2665-483: The courthouse without being arrested. After Dr. King led marchers to the courthouse that morning, Jim Clark began to arrest all registrants in excess of 100, and corral the rest. Annie Lee Cooper , a fifty-three-year-old practical nurse who had been part of the Selma movement since 1963, struck Clark after he twisted her arm, and she knocked him to his knees. Four deputies seized Cooper, and photographers captured images of Clark beating her repeatedly with his club. The crowd
Perry County - Misplaced Pages Continue
2730-474: The efforts, and these figures drew more prominent people to Alabama. Local and regional protests began in January 1965, with 3,000 people arrested by the end of February. On February 26, activist and deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson died after being shot several days earlier by state trooper James Bonard Fowler during a peaceful march in nearby Marion . To defuse and refocus the Black community's outrage, James Bevel , who
2795-598: The executive board of SCLC had not joined it. When SCLC officially accepted the invitation from the "Courageous Eight", Bevel, Nash, Orange, and others in SCLC began working in Selma in December 1964. They also worked in the surrounding counties, along with the SNCC staff who had been active there since early 1963. Since the rejection of voting status for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegates by
2860-444: The following weeks, SCLC and SNCC activists expanded voter registration drives and protests in Selma and the adjacent Black Belt counties. Preparations for mass registration commenced in early January, and with King out of town fundraising, were largely under the leadership of Diane Nash . On January 15, King called President Johnson and the two agreed to begin a major push for voting rights legislation which would assist in advancing
2925-462: The group to participate. SNCC called in Fay Bellamy and Silas Norman to be full-time organizers in Selma. Selma had both moderate and hardline segregationists in its white power structure. The newly elected Mayor Joseph Smitherman was a moderate who hoped to attract Northern business investment, and he was very conscious of the city's image. Smitherman appointed veteran lawman Wilson Baker to head
2990-652: The hot sun, only a handful of the hundreds in the line were allowed to fill out the voter application, and most of those applications were denied by white county officials. United States Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents were present and observing the scene, but took no action against local officials. On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, prohibiting segregation of public facilities. Some Jim Crow laws and customs remained in effect in Selma and other places for some time. When activists resumed efforts to integrate Selma's eating and entertainment venues, blacks who tried to attend
3055-497: The northern half of the county being located in the far southern extensions of the foothills of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians . This area is mainly forested, with some hills and valleys. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 8,511 people, 3,070 households, and 1,476 families residing in the county. Perry County was ranked as the county with the level of obesity by U.S. News & World Report , with
3120-502: The only whites in Selma who openly supported the voting rights campaign. SNCC staff member Don Jelinek later described this order as "the unsung heroes of the Selma March ;... who provided the only integrated Catholic church in Selma, and perhaps in the entire Deep South ". In early 1963, SNCC organizers Bernard Lafayette and Colia Liddel Lafayette arrived in Selma to begin a voter-registration project in cooperation with
3185-439: The passage of more anti-poverty legislation. After King returned to Selma, the first big "Freedom Day" of the new campaign occurred on January 18. According to their respective strategies, Chief Baker's police were cordial toward demonstrators, but Sheriff Clark refused to let black registrants enter the county courthouse. Clark made no arrests or assaults at this time. However, in an incident that drew national attention, Dr. King
3250-497: The population of Dallas County was 57% black, but of the 15,000 blacks old enough to vote, only 130 were registered (fewer than 1%). At that time, more than 80% of Dallas County blacks lived below the poverty line, most of them working as sharecroppers , farmhands, maids, janitors, and day laborers, but there were also teachers and business owners. With the literacy test administered subjectively by white registrars, even educated blacks were prevented from registering or voting. Led by
3315-445: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,333 households, out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.40% were married couples living together, 25.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. Nearly 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
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#17328451334933380-521: The regular delegates at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, major tensions between SCLC and SNCC had been brewing. SCLC ultimately remained neutral in the MFDP dispute to maintain its ties with the national Democratic coalition . Many SNCC members believed they were in an adversarial position with an American establishment which they thought had scorned grassroots democracy . SNCC's focus
3445-502: The same day, SCLC and SNCC organizers took the campaign outside of Dallas County for the first time; in nearby Perry County 700 students and adults, including James Orange , were arrested. On the same day, students from Tuskegee Institute , working in cooperation with SNCC, were arrested for acts of civil disobedience in solidarity with the Selma campaign. In New York and Chicago, Friends of SNCC chapters staged sit-ins at federal buildings in support of Selma blacks, and CORE chapters in
3510-469: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Perry_County&oldid=709731370 " Categories : County name disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3575-469: The scene to hide in a nearby café. Alabama State Trooper corporal James Bonard Fowler followed Jackson into the café and shot him, saying he thought the protester was trying to get his gun as they grappled. Jackson died eight days later at Selma's Good Samaritan Hospital, of an infection resulting from the gunshot wound. The death of Jimmie Lee Jackson prompted civil rights leaders to bring their cause directly to Alabama Governor George Wallace by performing
3640-401: The sponsorship of civil rights organizations or leaders. This injunction made it illegal for more than two people at a time to talk about civil rights or voter registration in Selma, suppressing public civil rights activity there for the next six months. With civil rights activity blocked by Judge Hare's injunction, Frederick Douglas Reese requested the assistance of King and the SCLC. Reese
3705-403: Was 2.63, and the average family size was 3.23. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.80% under the age of 18, 11.10% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.40 males. The median income for
3770-593: Was assassinated two weeks later). That February 4, President Lyndon Johnson made his first public statement in support of the Selma campaign. At midday, Judge Thomas, at the Justice Department's urging, issued an injunction that suspended Alabama's current literacy test, ordered Selma to take at least 100 applications per registration day, and guaranteed that all applications received by June 1 would be processed before July. In response to Thomas' favorable ruling, and in alarm at Malcolm X's visit, Andrew Young , who
3835-444: Was directing SCLC's Selma voting rights movement, called for a march of dramatic length, from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery, calling for an unhindered exercise of the right to vote. The first march took place on March 7, 1965, led by figures including Bevel and Amelia Boynton , but was ended by state troopers and county possemen , who charged on about 600 unarmed protesters with batons and tear gas after they crossed
3900-419: Was inflamed and some wanted to intervene against Clark, but King ordered them back as Cooper was taken away. Although Cooper had violated nonviolent discipline, the movement rallied around her. James Bevel , speaking at a mass meeting, deplored her actions because "then [the press] don't talk about the registration." But when asked about the incident by Jet magazine, Bevel said, "Not everybody who registers
3965-613: Was knocked down and kicked by a leader of the National States Rights Party, who was quickly arrested by Chief Baker. Baker also arrested the head of the American Nazi Party , George Lincoln Rockwell , who said he'd come to Selma to "run King out of town". Over the next week, blacks persisted in their attempts to register. Sheriff Clark responded by arresting organizers, including Amelia Boynton and Hosea Williams . Eventually, 225 registrants were arrested as well at
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#17328451334934030-427: Was not in charge of the Selma movement, said he would suspend demonstrations. James Bevel, however, continued to ask people to line up at the voter's registration office as they had been doing, and Dr. King called Young from jail, telling him the demonstrations would continue. They did so the next day, and more than 500 protesters were arrested. On February 5, King bailed himself and Abernathy out of jail. On February 6,
4095-478: Was on bottom-up organizing, establishing deep-rooted local power bases through community organizing . They had become distrustful of SCLC's spectacular mobilizations which were designed to appeal to the national media and Washington, DC, but which, most of SNCC believed, did not result in major improvements for the lives of African Americans on the ground. But, SNCC chairman John Lewis (also an SCLC board member), believed mass mobilizations to be invaluable, and he urged
4160-554: Was president of the DCVL, but the group declined to invite the SCLC; the invitation instead came from a group of local activists who would become known as the Courageous Eight – Ulysses S. Blackmon Sr., Amelia Boynton , Ernest Doyle, Marie Foster, James Gildersleeve, J.D. Hunter Sr., Henry Shannon Sr., and Reese. Three of SCLC's main organizers – James Bevel , Diane Nash , and James Orange – had already been working on Bevel's Alabama Voting Rights Project since late 1963. King and
4225-413: Was thrown in jail. Other prisoners heard him screaming and being beaten. A few days later, his mutilated body turned up near Greensboro . The Perry County town of Marion was the site of a 1965 killing of an unarmed Black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson , by a white state trooper, James Bonard Fowler , which sparked the Selma to Montgomery marches . In 2008, the county voted to establish a Barack Obama Day,
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