A photography exhibit titled “March to Freedom” is now on display at the Elzay Gallery from now through April 6. The exhibition is presented in collaboration The University of Texas at Austin and the LBJ Presidential Library.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, joined other civil rights leaders including to lead peaceful demonstrations and conduct nonviolent acts of civil disobedience publicizing the need for equal rights, including a national voting rights law.

The media coverage of their peaceful demonstrations, which were at times met with violent opposition, helped garner widespread support for the passage of voting rights legislation. The three marches opened the door for the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Photojournalist James “Spider” Martin was the youngest freelance photographer at the Birmingham News, where he covered everything from Alabama football to country club social events. Witnessing the violent treatment of peaceful protestors had a profound effect on Martin’s career. His images of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Ala., galvanized public opinion in support of the protesters.

Martin joined the historic march from Selma to Montgomery later that month in two capacities: as a member of the media and as a participant in the struggle for racial equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in ONU Taft Gym in January 1968, which was 84 days before his assassination.