In scenes now seared into the fabric of a nation , state troopers in helmets and gas masks stand off against crowds of young , black protesters on the roads between Selma and Montgomery , Alabama . Seconds later they charge , tear gas flowing around them . Other frames show venerated leaders of the Civil Rights Movement marching implacably , despite the threat of harm to them and their supporters . The images , now fifty years old , have been assembled from the work of three photographers covering the marches , and are now being displayed in a New York City photography exhibition . Scroll down for video . Bloody Sunday : Alabama State Troopers are pictured above on March 7 , 1965 , confronting activists Hosea Williams , John Lewis and their supporters . Spider Martin , who took the photograph , observed they were 'beaten down like dominoes ' in short order . Chaos : State troopers deployed tear gas against the marchers , drawing widespread outrage which contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year . Leaders : Martin Luther King Jr ( center ) , James Forman ( left ) and Reverend Jessie Douglas ( right ) are pictured above marching around the state capitol in Montgomery , Alabama . The first was Spider Martin , a staff photographer for the pro-segregation Birmingham News , who described dodging heavy-handed authorities , climbing rickety churches and scrapping with other journalists to get the best shots . The pictures are being displayed by the Steven Kasher Gallery , which will display them until April 18 . Also featured is Charles Moore , who was working for Life Magazine , and whose images were seen around the world . Last was James Barker , a staff photographer employed by Washington State University and asked to attend the demonstrations . Closeness : This image shows protesters embracing as they walk the streets , during a portion of the march not beset by violence . Patriotic : A young man carries the Stars and Stripes over his shoulder , followed by several others doing the same on Bloody Sunday . The shots show the emotion , tension an violence of the struggles . In several , Alabama state troopers are poised to attack the protesters - which the photographers attest happened just seconds after they took their pictures . High-quality images of the authorities ' brutal response helped galvanize change and push through the Voting Rights Act just five months later . However , the transmission of the images was far from guaranteed - Martin recalled how his editors initially tried to suppress his images . Explaining their logic , he said : 'the largely segregationist editors thought if you did n't publish it , much of this would go away ' . But , taking the lead of other news outlets , he images were released - and helped effect a profound change in the fabric of America . Emotions running high : A minister makes a forceful point in the basement of Brown Chapel during the 1965 marches . Solidarity : This image shows Bob Mants , John Lewis , Hosea Williams and Andrew Young , with Brown ’ s Chapel AME Church in the background . Charging : Alabama state troopers are pictured above charing into marchers almost immeidately after giving them a two minute deadline to disperse . Making music : Musicians Harry Belafonte , left , and Joan Baez , right , entertained demonstrators on the march in the days after Bloody Sunday . Inversion : A marcher is shown above holding the Stars and Stripes upside-down - which he said was a sign of 'distress ' brought about by the social injustices the South was facing at the time .
New exhibition shows photographs from 1965 marches taken by three separate photographers . A staff photographer for Life magazine , a university staffer , and a local news photographer in Alabama contributed . Comment: