In Photos: The Selma to Washington 'Journey for Justice'

In early August, a week before the one year anniversary of the fatal police shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, members and supporters of the NAACP converged in Selma, Alabama to embark on a historic march under the banner "our lives, our votes, our jobs, and our schools matter."

The march, dubbed America's Journey for Justice, comes after a year of protests to end racial inequity, from biased policing and racial profiling to restoring voting rights to residents in mostly southern states — where in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, lawmakers have made moves that restrict rights. Hundreds of activists planned a march over 46 days across five southern states and 860 miles before reaching Washington, DC in mid-September. VICE News was there on day one of the march as activists convened at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

Hundreds of people walked across the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama at the start of the NAACP's march to Washington, DC. Marchers are traveling the same route as Martin Luther King, Jr. did 50 years prior.

Leah Quarterman, 10, marches with Shirley Gavin Floyd at the front of the NAACP's march to Washington, DC.

By the end of the first day of the NAACP's march to Washington, a great number of walkers had been hindered by the intense Alabama heat.

George Sallie, 87, was on the original march across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965. "I fought for my country in Korea for someone else's freedom, and then came home and realized I didn't have freedom of my own," he said. Sallie said he was marching because of the attacks on the Voting Rights Act. "What's the use of having legislation to protect our right to vote if it ends up being gutted?" George bears a scar on his forehead, a gift from the billy club of a member of the Citizen Posse.

Hosea Purifoy, 67, was just 17 when he walked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. "Even as we walked, some of the National Guard were spitting on us," he said. Nevertheless, he described the original march as "a lot of fun." He says the civil rights movement is a lot quieter today than it used to be. His chest is covered in scars from surgery he underwent after being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(L-R) Johnnie M. Leashore, Paula and Terry Stull and their son Nathan, and Lou Frazier take refuge from the summer heat before the opening remarks of the NAACP's march to Washington, DC.

All photos by Sara Lewkowicz for VICE

This story was produced with support from LG as part of the Photos from Beyond program — click to see more photos from this series. VICE News maintains all editorial independence in the production of this content.