Last updated: November 12, 2024
Article
Perry County Courthouse (Marion, Alabama)
African American Civil Rights Network
The Perry County Courthouse, in Marion, Alabama, began construction in 1844 and was completed in 1855. In the mid-1960s, civil rights demonstrations outside the courthouse helped to shape the course of the modern civil rights movement in the U.S.
Following a mass meeting the evening of February 18, 1965, several hundred demonstrators left Zion United Methodist Church in Marion to march to the local jail. The crowd did not advance far from the church, located across from the Perry County Courthouse, before they were met by law enforcement. Streetlights in the area were shut off and police began to beat demonstrators in the courthouse square who then fled for cover. Among the protestors were Jimmie Lee Jackson, an African American civil right activist, and members of his family. Jackson, and family members, retreated to a café nearby but were pursued by state troopers. After Jackson attempted to protect his mother, a state trooper shot Jackson twice in the stomach. Several days later he died in a Selma, Alabama hospital. His death became one of the catalysts for three marches in Selma. The second march, an attempted march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, became known as “Bloody Sunday” and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Perry County Courthouse became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
The Perry County Courthouse, in Marion, Alabama, began construction in 1844 and was completed in 1855. In the mid-1960s, civil rights demonstrations outside the courthouse helped to shape the course of the modern civil rights movement in the U.S.
Following a mass meeting the evening of February 18, 1965, several hundred demonstrators left Zion United Methodist Church in Marion to march to the local jail. The crowd did not advance far from the church, located across from the Perry County Courthouse, before they were met by law enforcement. Streetlights in the area were shut off and police began to beat demonstrators in the courthouse square who then fled for cover. Among the protestors were Jimmie Lee Jackson, an African American civil right activist, and members of his family. Jackson, and family members, retreated to a café nearby but were pursued by state troopers. After Jackson attempted to protect his mother, a state trooper shot Jackson twice in the stomach. Several days later he died in a Selma, Alabama hospital. His death became one of the catalysts for three marches in Selma. The second march, an attempted march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, became known as “Bloody Sunday” and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Perry County Courthouse became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.