Bloody Monday

In the spring of 1963 local African American ministers and other leaders organized the Danville Movement to combat widespread racial segregation and discrimination. On 10 June, two demonstrations occurred. Police clubbed and fire-hosed the marchers, injuring at least 47 and arresting 60. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., offered protestors his “full, personal support” when he arrived in Danville on 11 July. The nonviolent protests, which became known as “Bloody Monday,” gained national news coverage before the 28 Aug. March on Washington co-led by the Rev. Dr. King. Both events swelled sentiment in favor of civil rights legislation.