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She was among the hundreds of marchers who took to Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965 in the Selma To Montgomery march in Alabama. Better known as “Bloody Sunday,” the incident showcased a violent response from white police authorities and others who sought to halt the peaceful march.

In one of the most iconic photos of “Bloody Sunday” shows a badly beaten Boynton Robinson cradled by another marcher. The images, especially Boynton Robinson’s, spread globally, generation outrage.  Eventually, due to their efforts, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed into law by then President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Boynton Robinson married twice more, to musician Bob Billups, who died in 1973 in a boating accident. She married former Tuskegee classmate James Robinson, who died in 1988.

In 1990, Boynton Robinson was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal. In 2014, five blocks of Lapsley Street in Selma were renamed Boyntons Street in honor of she and her first husband.

At the top of the year, Boynton Robinson was a honored guest of President Barack Obama at his State Of The Union address, and was by his side (pictured) during the 50th anniversary of the Selma To Montgomery protest this past March.

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Little Known Black History Fact: Amelia Boynton Robinson  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

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