Letter to J. Edgar Hoover with Response
3/13/1965
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In this letter, Alice Guillemette of Massachusetts aks FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover “whether or not you agree with your FBI agent, Mr. James M. Barbo of Mobile, Ala. that you think the State Troopers acted in the interest of public safety by tear-gassing Negro marchers last Sunday at Selma, Ala.”
The attempted march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on Sunday, March 7th was stopped by police troopers and resulted in tear gassing and dispersal of the approximately 625 marchers. It came to be known as Bloody Sunday.
The violent response from Alabama State Troopers and a mob of citizens was broadcast on national television for all to see. Citizens from around the country were largely shocked by the way the marchers were abused, and many wrote to the government to express their outrage. About watching the incident on television, Guillemette states, “It was the most monstrous, brutal thing I’ve ever seen” and makes clear that she is a “white, Anglo-Saxon and Christian and old” woman supporting the cause of the marchers.
The attempted march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on Sunday, March 7th was stopped by police troopers and resulted in tear gassing and dispersal of the approximately 625 marchers. It came to be known as Bloody Sunday.
The violent response from Alabama State Troopers and a mob of citizens was broadcast on national television for all to see. Citizens from around the country were largely shocked by the way the marchers were abused, and many wrote to the government to express their outrage. About watching the incident on television, Guillemette states, “It was the most monstrous, brutal thing I’ve ever seen” and makes clear that she is a “white, Anglo-Saxon and Christian and old” woman supporting the cause of the marchers.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
National Archives Identifier: 7634471
Full Citation: Letter from Alice Guillemette to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover with Response; 3/13/1965; 44-28492, Section 1 Serials 1-42, Alabama (1965) 3/7 Selma to Montgomery March, Edmund Pettus Bridge (Photos), Martin Luther King, Jr., A.D. King, Ralph Abernathy, A. Phillip Randolph, John Robert Lew; Classification 44 (Civil Rights) Headquarters Case Files, 1924 - 1978; Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Record Group 65; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-to-j-edgar-hoover, June 20, 2025]Activities that use this document
- The Impact of Bloody Sunday in Selma
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