22 | February 15, 2018 | Johns Creek Herald | NorthFulton.com
COMMUNITY
Local man, activist recalls experience at Bloody Sunday By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. —March 7, 1965 has been immortalized in history as Bloody Sunday, when marchers attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma, Ala. to Montgomery in pursuit of civil rights. But for Johns Creek resident John Suttles, it began as just another day for the 16-year-old. “It was an ordinary Sunday,” he said. “We were going to make the day of the Sheriff Jim Clark and the troopers by letting them beat us up and put us in jail. We wanted to take the message [of voting rights] to the Alabama Governor George Wallace.” That morning, Suttles, who is now 70, prepared to march along his fellow activists. The group stood outside of a church and prayed. They went through a training exercise that teaches one how to protect their head from the billy clubs, a short, thick stick often used by police officers. Then the “foot soldiers” set out. “When we got to the top of the bridge, the air became thick and it became quiet and eerie,” Suttles said. “There were about 600 of us. I was about 10 feet from (then Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader and current Congressman) John Lewis who was at the head of the line. I looked down and saw a sea of hundreds of troopers.” When the group got down to the troopers, they were asked to disperse and go back to the church. Lewis said they would not retreat and instead would continue to Montgomery. “They told us we couldn’t march so John Lewis said we would kneel and pray,” Suttles said. “Just as we started to kneel and pray, all hell broke loose. They commenced the beating and throwing tear gas. They herded us like animals into a circle. When we were defenseless, they threw grenades of tear gas around us. We couldn’t run.” Suttles remembers breathing in the gas but crouching down as far as he could because he was taught the lower a person gets, the chances of breathing easier were better. He could hear horses, women yelling and sticks beating the crowd for about 5 to 10 minutes. “I couldn’t take it anymore,” Suttles said. “Just as I decided to run, I lifted my head and I got a big bump on my head. That’s all I remember of the whole incident. It knocked me out and I
JULIA GROCHOWSKI/HERALD
In 2015, John Suttles received a replica of the 50th anniversary medal bestowed to those who marched in Selma on Bloody Sunday in 1965.
was intoxicated with tear gas.” When Suttles came to, he was being taken across the bridge and received treatment at the bottom from paramedics who eventually took him to the hospital. The fight kept on and the Voting Rights Act became effective later that year on Aug. 6, 1965 thanks to this march and others. As a Selma native, Suttles initially became involved in the civil rights movement when he was a teenager. “It was the hot bed of civil rights,” Suttles said. “In all revolutions, no matter what they’re about, young people tend to make it happen. There is always the possibility of doing extraordinary things. Young people have always had pressure on them but they have to understand that, keep going and make a difference for other people. This battle isn’t going anywhere and young people today need to know how to fight it.” So when he heard about the march, it seemed natural for Suttles to join in. “I just wanted to do something,” he said. “My adrenaline was running high. Older people got tired of being beaten down and rejected for having the right