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One Minnesotan's adventurous march to Montgomery 50 years ago

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Bill Wernz
Bill Wernz, who marched from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. in 1965, visited the Minnesota Public Radio studios to talk with Cathy Wurzer Friday, March 6, 2015.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the three historic civil rights marches that started in Selma, Ala., and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

The first two marches were stopped before they reached their destination, the state capitol in Montgomery. But the third march, which started 50 years ago Saturday, did make the entire 54-mile journey.

A federal injunction had been lifted and the marchers were protected by the U.S. Army. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged people from around the country to join the march.

Bill Wernz, who is now a Minneapolis-based attorney, was a 19-year-old college student in 1965. While he was at church on March 14, 1965, he heard about a group that would be heading south from Minnesota to join the march.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Wernz about what happened after he decided to go.