50 years ago on March 7, 1965, 600 marchers organized in Selma, AL. They were led by John Robert Lewis and other activists from both the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). Soon after crossing over the Edmund Pettus Bridge en route to Montgomery, they were met by state troopers ordering them to stop. As they proceeded, teargas was shot into the crowd and billy clubs used to further bring the marchers down. The event was televised nationally and worldwide.