On this holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute reflects on Dr. King’s impact. From the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott beginning in 1955 to the Selma March in 1965, Dr. King entered “America’s Courtroom” numerous times.
Last summer, the Johnson Institute Scholars at the Frank Johnson Courthouse learned about cases in which Dr. King played important roles.
Read more about Browder v. Gayle, the court case that led to the Supreme Court affirming the unconstitutionality of city bus segregation and sparking the larger Civil Rights Movement. And, learn about Williams v. Wallace, the case filed by marchers after they were attacked by Alabama State Troopers on Bloody Sunday before the successful Selma March. Each of the links above includes summaries and court filings from the cases.
To learn more about “where King and his allies successfully turned to the federal courts when other options failed,” visit the Middle District of Alabama website to read about the Federal Courts and Martin Luther King Jr's Legacy.