As 1964 ends in Selma, Judge Hare's illegal and unconstitutional injunction still in effect. It prohibits Black leaders and freedom organizations from meeting with three or more people at one time to talk about civil rights or voter registration. Organizing and registration efforts are crippled.
Early in 1965 Lyndon Johnson believed Southern states needed time to absorb the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with its comprehensive ban on segregation, before any further action could be taken. King, however, believed a second bill was necessary to secure voting rights for African Americans.
During our nonviolent direct-action campaigns we were advised, and again we were so advised in Selma, that violence might ensue. Herein lay a dilemma: of course, there always was the likelihood that, because of the hostility to our demonstrations, acts of lawlessness may be precipitated.