The Selma to Montgomery marches were in defiance of something.
Frederick D. Reese . This campaign eventually gave birth to the Selma to Montgomery marches , which later led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act . Selma to Montgomery marches . The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the desire of African-American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote , in defiance of segregationist repression , and were part of a broader voting rights movement underway in Selma and throughout the American South .