Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Struggle of Racial Injustice

32 Deaths of Civil Rights Organizers, Boycotters & Marchers

— Montgomery Square - Legacy Site —

Struggle of Racial Injustice Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 25, 2026

1. Struggle of Racial Injustice Marker

Inscription.

Struggle of Racial Injustice. 32 Deaths of Civil Rights Organizers, Boycotters and Marchers. , Scores of people lost their lives in the struggle against racial injustice. Here are the portraits of 32 people whose deaths profoundly impacted those who organized, boycotted, and marched in Montgomery, Alabama. , [Left to Right - Top to Bottom], 1. Niecey Brown was attacked and killed by a police officer in Selma, Alabama, in 1945. , 2. Timothy Hood was shot and killed after removing a sign separating Black and white streetcar passengers in Bessemer, Alabama, in 1946. , 3. Fred Johnson was the victim of a racial terror lynching in Pike County, Alabama, and died in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1947. , 4. Elmore Bolling, a Black businessman, was lynched in Lowndes County, Alabama, in 1947 as retaliation for his financial success. , 5. Hilliard Brooks Jr. was fatally shot after a dispute with a white bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1950. , 6. The Rev. George Lee was shot and killed after refusing demands by White Citizens' Council members that he remove his name from voter rolls in Belzoni, Mississippi, in 1955. , 7. Lamar Smith was shot and killed in Brookhaven, Mississippi, in 1955, for his voting rights activism. , 8. Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Money, Mississippi, in 1955. , 9. Willie Edwards Jr. was lynched on a bridge over the Alabama River in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1957. , 10. Eighteen-year-old Rogers Hamilton was abducted from his home and fatally shot for waving at a white girl in Lowndesboro, Alabama, in 1957. , 11. Jeremiah Reeves was executed by the State of Alabama in 1958 for an interracial affair after a coerced false confession. , 12. Herbert Lee was murdered for attempting to register Black voters in Liberty, Mississippi, in 1961. , 13. William Lewis Moore was shot in Attalla, Alabama, in 1963, while marching in support of integration and civil rights. , 14. NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963. , 15. Fourteen-year-old Addie Mae Collins was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights. , 16. Eleven-year-old Denise McNair was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights. , 17. Fourteen-year-old Carole Robertson was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights. , 18. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Wesley was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights. , 19. Thirteen-year-old Virgil Lamar Ware was shot and killed in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963 by white teens opposed to integration. , 20. Sixteen-year-old Johnny Robinson was shot and killed after being targeted by segregationists in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. , 21. Louis Allen, a 44-year-old World War II veteran, was murdered in Liberty, Mississippi, in 1964 for providing evidence in a case of the killing of another civil rights activist. , 22. James Chaney was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964. , 23. Andrew Goodman was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964. , 24. Michael Schwerner was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964., 25. Jimmie Lee Jackson was fatally shot during a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama and died in Selma, Alabama in 1965. , 26. The Rev. James Reeb was beaten during the Selma to Montgomery March and died from injuries in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1965. , 27. Viola Liuzzo was shot and killed while driving civil rights marchers between Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in 1965. , 28. Willie Brewster was shot and killed after segregationists urged violence against Black people in Anniston, Alabama, in 1965. , 29. Jonathan Daniels was murdered for his voting rights activism in Hayneville, Alabama, in 1965. , 30. Veteran Sammy Younge Jr. was shot and killed for attempting to use a "white-only" restroom in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1966. , 31. Vernon Dahmer was murdered for his efforts to register Black voters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1966. , 32. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

Scores of people lost their lives in the struggle against racial injustice. Here are the portraits of 32 people whose deaths profoundly impacted those who organized, boycotted, and marched in Montgomery, Alabama.

[Left to Right - Top to Bottom]

1. Niecey Brown was attacked and killed by a police officer in Selma, Alabama, in 1945.
2. Timothy Hood was shot and killed after removing a sign separating Black and white streetcar passengers in Bessemer, Alabama, in 1946.
3. Fred Johnson was the victim of a racial terror lynching in Pike County, Alabama, and died in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1947.
4. Elmore Bolling, a Black businessman, was lynched in Lowndes County, Alabama, in 1947 as retaliation for his financial success.
5. Hilliard Brooks Jr. was fatally shot after a dispute with a white bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1950.
6. The Rev. George Lee was shot and killed after refusing demands by White Citizens' Council members that he remove his name from voter rolls in Belzoni, Mississippi, in 1955.
7. Lamar Smith was shot and killed in Brookhaven, Mississippi, in 1955, for his voting rights activism.
8. Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Money, Mississippi, in 1955.

9. Willie Edwards Jr. was lynched on a bridge over the Alabama

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River in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1957.
10. Eighteen-year-old Rogers Hamilton was abducted from his home and fatally shot for waving at a white girl in Lowndesboro, Alabama, in 1957.
11. Jeremiah Reeves was executed by the State of Alabama in 1958 for an interracial affair after a coerced false confession.
12. Herbert Lee was murdered for attempting to register Black voters in Liberty, Mississippi, in 1961.
13. William Lewis Moore was shot in Attalla, Alabama, in 1963, while marching in support of integration and civil rights.
14. NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963.
15. Fourteen-year-old Addie Mae Collins was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights.
16. Eleven-year-old Denise McNair was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights.

17. Fourteen-year-old Carole Robertson was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights.
18. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Wesley was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, by opponents of civil rights.
19. Thirteen-year-old Virgil Lamar Ware was shot and killed in Birmingham,

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 25, 2026

2. Struggle of Racial Injustice Marker

Alabama, in 1963 by white teens opposed to integration.
20. Sixteen-year-old Johnny Robinson was shot and killed after being targeted by segregationists in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963.
21. Louis Allen, a 44-year-old World War II veteran, was murdered in Liberty, Mississippi, in 1964 for providing evidence in a case of the killing of another civil rights activist.
22. James Chaney was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964.
23. Andrew Goodman was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964.
24. Michael Schwerner was murdered for civil rights activism by a deputy sheriff and his fellow Klansmen in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964.

25. Jimmie Lee Jackson was fatally shot during a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama and died in Selma, Alabama in 1965.
26. The Rev. James Reeb was beaten during the Selma to Montgomery March and died from injuries in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1965.
27. Viola Liuzzo was shot and killed while driving civil rights marchers between Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in 1965.
28. Willie Brewster was shot and killed after segregationists urged violence against Black people in Anniston, Alabama, in 1965.
29. Jonathan Daniels was murdered for his

Montgomery Square image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 25, 2026

3. Montgomery Square

voting rights activism in Hayneville, Alabama, in 1965.
30. Veteran Sammy Younge Jr. was shot and killed for attempting to use a "white-only" restroom in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1966.
31. Vernon Dahmer was murdered for his efforts to register Black voters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1966.
32. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

Erected 2026 by the Equal Justice Initiative.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical year for this entry is 1945.

Location. 32° 22.482′ N, 86° 18.892′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from the intersection of Montgomery Street and State Street, on the left when traveling north. Located in Montgomery Square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 540 Montgomery St, Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dr. King: "How Long?" (here, next to this marker); Segregation Voices (within shouting distance of this marker); Circle of Time (within shouting distance of this marker); The Law of Segregation (within shouting distance of this marker); Montgomery (within shouting distance

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of this marker); The Five Points Area: A Unique Blend of Communities in 1965 (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Marching On (about 400 feet away); Judge Frank M. Johnson: Judicial Fairness in the Age of Segregation (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 27, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 27, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 27, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.