Marie Foster was a civil rights activist born in 1917 in Alabama who helped organize voter registration drives and the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march. She taught others how to pass voter registration tests and participated in Bloody Sunday, where she was beaten by police. Despite her injuries, she continued with the successful five-day march to Montgomery, walking 50 miles to promote voting rights. She played a key role in helping register many African American voters in Selma.

1. By Victoria BrionesMarie Foster

2. She was born in Wilcox Country Alabama. October 24th, 1917. She died September 6th, 2003 in Selma Alabama. She was 85 years old. She was a Leader in the Civil Rights Movement. She was instrumental in helping to register many African American voters in Selma, Alabama, and was one of the primary local organizers of the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965

3. Marie Foster was a civil rights activist who helped launch the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights in march, died recently at a hospital in Selma, AL. She was 85.

4. Civil Rights MovementVoters Registration Foster became interested in the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s because she felt "the race relations were so bad in Selma". She tried to register to vote eight times before succeeding.Following her successful registration, Foster began teaching other African Americans how to pass the tests used to bar them. One person showed up to her first class, in which she taught the 70-year-old man how to write his own name. Gradually, the classes drew more and more people.

5. MarchesAs the Civil Rights Movement grew, Foster became an organizer for the Dallas County area. She participated in the march on March 7, 1965 that became known as Bloody Sunday. As the march approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a combined state trooper and police force stopped the march, violently beating many of the participants. Foster was at the front of one of the lines, and was clubbed by a state trooper, leaving her with her with swollen knees. Despite her injuries, two weeks later Foster participated in the march that eventually made it all the way to Montgomery, Alabama, successfully walking fifty miles over five days.

6. Early Life Foster was born Marie Priscilla Martin near Alberta, Alabama on October 24, 1917. Foster's mother took her to Selma to get an education against Foster's father's wishes. Foster did not initially complete high school, but instead dropped out, married, and raised three children. After her husband's death, Foster worked low-wage jobs—but eventually completed high school, went to a junior college, and became a dental hygienist.http://www.ask.com/wiki/Marie_Foster