Spider Martin’s powerful photographs captured pivotal moments of the civil rights movement in Alabama.
Today marked the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March.
People gathered to walk from St. Jude to the Capitol to commemorate the anniversary, just as thousands gathered to travel the same route on the final day of the 1965 march. pic.twitter.com/zPwX8wJU17
— City of Montgomery (@CityofMGM) March 24, 2025
His iconic image “Two Minute Warning” shows John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and others standing resolute on the Edmund Pettus Bridge as state troopers advance, moments before the violence of Bloody Sunday unfolded on March 7, 1965. Martin’s daughter Tracy is dedicated to preserving her father’s legacy.
“I don’t have to do much to keep daddy’s stuff relevant, because it always is,” she said. The ongoing fight for justice underscores the relevance of his work. Spider Martin stayed to document the events despite pressure from authorities.
Today we walk.
Join us at 1 p.m. at City of St. Jude Catholic Parish for the final leg of the Selma-to-Montgomery March.
Speakers, performers, and a powerful tribute to the past.
Can’t join in person? March with us online: https://t.co/9UqnZQfoH1 pic.twitter.com/8XFu7B0klZ
— City of Montgomery (@CityofMGM) March 23, 2025
“I stayed because the police and the troopers wanted me to leave and that pissed me off. And because I knew what was happening was wrong,” he once said.
“How long? Not long!”
From @TheKingCenter Library and Archives:
60 years ago today, at the culmination of the #Selma to #Montgomery marches to protest for the removal of the discriminatory, racially motivated barriers to Black people exercising the right to vote, Daddy gave… pic.twitter.com/DwSd58TnK5
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) March 25, 2025
Sixty years later, the City of Montgomery revived the Stars for Freedom Rally, originally held in 1965 by Harry Belafonte.
Today, I am in Montgomery, AL, reflecting on and celebrating the legacy of the Selma marches, which ended here. I see the courage of my father and the thousands of brave souls who set the stage for the ongoing fight.
We must continue to show up and make our voices heard! pic.twitter.com/REKXooARFX
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) March 23, 2025
Legacy of Spider Martin honored
The rally drew a large crowd to hear messages of peace and unity from influential figures like Big Boi, Larenz Tate, Gina Belafonte, and Mayor Steven Reed. Attendee Mary Boone shared a personal connection.
“My husband, Richard Boone, led over 800 students here, and they all marched,” she said. “Today, over 800 plus are out here saying we celebrate, we commemorate, we remember, and we will do what is necessary for the beloved community.”
The event showed how traditions of the past shape the future. “We are all in this together,” said attendee Maralyn Hobbes.
“Black, white, whatever it is, we’re out here fighting together just to ensure that we all have equal rights.”
Central New York also played a role in the historic Selma to Montgomery March. About 50 Syracusans, led by Father Charles Brady, flew to Montgomery to join the march on its final day, March 25, 1965. They faced fears and risks to advance the cause of justice.
Dave Pasinski, in a letter to the editor, hopes their legacy will inspire others to face today’s challenges in racial equality, human rights, and poverty. “We have a rich history as well as profound challenges in our Central New York community, and we need the courage of these and many others who present us with their legacy of a ‘cloud of witnesses’ that encourages us to take the necessary risks in the struggle they advanced,” he wrote.
