(6 of 11)
To the Bridge. Finally, Martin Luther King arrived, having committed himself to the deal proposed by Collins and approved by Smitherman, Lingo and Clark. His unsuspecting listeners settled into a respectful hush as he spoke of his "painful and difficult decision." Said King with great emotion: "I have made my choice. I have got to march. I do not know what lies ahead of us. There may be beatings, jailings, tear gas. But I would rather die on the highways of Alabama than make a butchery of my conscience! There is nothing more tragic in all this world than to know right and not do it. I cannot stand in the midst of all these glaring evils and not take a stand. There is no alternative in conscience or in the name of morality."
Half an hour later, the march began. Down Sylvan Street they trooped. At Water Avenue they turned right and followed the road to the bridge. In the front rank marched four young S.N.C.C. workers, solemn and purposeful. Behind them, arms linked, were King and his brother, the Rev. A.D. William King, James Farmer, head of the Congress of Racial Equality, and others.
At the foot of the bridge, a U.S. marshal sent by Judge Johnson stopped the march, read portions of Johnson's court order. King responded with a brief statement about his moral commitment. The marshal stepped aside, and the march continued.
On the Altar. In his Washington office, Attorney General Katzenbach, shirt sleeves rolled up, studied an enlarged map of Selma. Two telephone lines, fed into an office squawk box, echoed with brisk reports from Aide John Doar on the scene. At 3:56 p.m., Katzenbach phoned Presidential Aide Bill Moyers at the White House. "We're right at the critical moment," said he. "I'll keep you posted."
Doar's voice came over the squawk box: "They were allowed to go over the bridge. Dr. King is there, and several elderly ladies. They're over the bridge. They have halted . . ."
So they had. Confronted by the police barrier, King stopped the procession as planned. Troop Major John Cloud raised his bullhorn and said: "I ask you to stop this march. You will not continue—you are ordered to stop and stand where you are." King asked Cloud if it was all right to "have some of the great religious leaders of our nation lead us in prayer." When permission was granted, King motioned to his longtime friend, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. As hundreds in the parade knelt in the sunlight, Abernathy intoned: "We come to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We don't have much to offer, but we do have our bodies, and we lay them on the altar today." Other prayers followed, and when they were over, Cloud turned to his troopers and ordered: "Clear the road completely—move out!" With that, the troopers moved to the sides of the highway, leaving the way to Montgomery wide open.
Walking Back. This was a calculated attempt to embarrass King, who according to the script, was supposed to turn back only because he had been confronted by adamant police power. But King