What is New About Selma?

The murder of a human being is never to be dismissed, especially of one like the Rev. Reeb. Yet that is not new, and probably it will happen again, many times, before the Negro liberation movement gains its complete victory. The wanton brutality of sheriffs gives more than enough cause for the revulsion it has created. Yet that too is not new, and probably will happen again.

What is new and overwhelming is that the movement has penetrated to the heart of the Black Belt, the core of racist mania. There Negro resistance has quickly shown itself to be a mass movement, embracing thousands of people without any previous experience in politics or protest. As if to mock the legend of ingrained passivity and with one gesture whip off the ...