The Alabama Bridge Named After a KKK Leader & Became a Powerful Civil Rights Monument

The Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama

At 1,248 feet, this steel bridge arches over the Alabama River in Selma. Its middle span stretches 250 feet, and at the center, it towers about 100 feet above the water. Painted bright white, you can spot it from anywhere in town.

Beyond being a mainstay of daily commute, this steel giant has witnessed brutal violence, historic triumphs, and even presidential visits. Here are some interesting facts about the amazing Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Designed by Selma’s Very Own

The former bridge one block east, constructed in 1885, was an iron camelback truss bridge with three spans and a swing span for river traffic.

Then a Selma guy named Henson Knowles Stephenson designed the Edmund Pettus back in the 30s. Construction started in 1938 and wrapped up by 1940, costing $841,000. He used reinforced concrete piers and steel arches that were pretty cutting-edge for small-town Alabama.

The Bloody Sunday Attack

March 7, 1965. About 600 protester tried crossing the bridge with John Lewis and Hosea Williams leading the pack. America then watched in horror as a peaceful protest turned bloody on a Sunday afternoon.

What happened next was brutal. State troopers and local cops attacked with everything they had (clubs, tear gas, and whips). Over 50 people needed to be hospitalized.

The Shooting That Led to the March

The Bloody Sunday March on Edmund Pettus bridge was triggered by death. Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old, was shot dead by a state trooper whilst protecting his mother in nearby Marion, Alabama.

The Bridge’s Arch Made the Protesters Vulnerable

The bridge design, though a symbolic threshold in the fight for civil rights, actually helped set the trap. It’s not flat but arches up in the middle, so you can’t see what’s on the other side till you reach the top.

The marchers climbed up the east side, totally blind to the mess of state troopers waiting at the bottom of the west side. By the time they spotted trouble, they were stuck. They couldn’t go forward without getting beaten.

It Was in the Spotlight

The Bloody Sunday attack had thousands of witnesses. ABC cut into a movie called “Judgment at Nuremberg” to show 15 minutes of the bridge beatings. 48 million Americans saw it live. A photographer named Spider Martin for the Birmingham News shot pictures that hit newspapers the next morning.

President Johnson also called it “an American tragedy.” Dr. King wasn’t even there that day, but he called for another march right away.

The Second March on thhe Edmund Pettus Bridge

Just two weeks later, on March 21, 1965, Dr. King led the second march. About 3,200 marchers crossed the bridge, this time with federal protection ordered by President Johnson himself.

They walked 12 miles each day and slept on fields and roadsides. Five days later, they rolled into Montgomery 25,000 strong.

More than 2,000 Army troops and federal marshals escorted the marchers along U.S. Route 80. From bloodbath to victory march in just 14 days.

It Led To The Voting Rights Act

Eight days after Bloody Sunday, President Johnson went hard at Congress on March 15, 1965. He even dropped the civil rights anthem phrase “We shall overcome” in his speech.

By August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was law. No more literacy tests. And it changed everything. Before the Voting Rights Act, only 335 out of 15,000 eligible Black citizens in Selma were registered to vote.

Right after the act, millions of Black Americans finally got to vote, and Black elected officials started showing up all over the South.

The Bridge Crossing Jubilee

Since 1993, folks have been dropping by Selma each March for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee. It’s grown into a massive celebration with over 40 events, including workshops, concerts, awards gala, and more.

The highlight is walking the bridge again and tracing those historic footsteps. Some original “foot soldiers” from 1965 still show up, gray-haired now but proud as hell. The 60th anniversary in March 2025 featured renewed calls for voting rights protections amid contemporary challenges to democracy.

The Bridge Is Now a National Historic Landmark

This took till 2013, but the feds finally named it a National Historic Landmark (the highest honor historic places can get).

That’s 48 years after the Bloody Sunday aftermath, after local folks pushed for it for years. It had been on the National Register since 2006, but the landmark status meant more protection and preservation money from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Near the western end of the bridge on the Selma side, there’s a historical marker recounting the fateful day.

People Want To Rename The Bridge

The bridge is named after Edmund Pettus, a KKK leader. Unsurprisingly, some wanted it renamed, preferably after John Lewis who spent 33 years in Congress fighting for civil rights and led the first march.

Others suggest the “Bridge to Freedom.” Many prefer to leave the bridge untouched. A 2015 petition pulled 180,000 signatures to change it, but Alabama hasn’t budged.

After Lewis died in 2020, the debate fired up again. Caroline Randall Williams, the great-great-granddaughter of Edmund Pettus, supports renaming the bridge, stating that honoring Pettus perpetuates a legacy of oppression.