towns. jim clark had the reputation of being one of the strongest and meanest sheriffs in the south. selma did everything to prevent people from voting. they closed the registration office when black people showed up. when they kept it open, they gave them the voting applications and then said there was something wrong and they would tear it up and throw it in the trash can. >> literacy tests and poll taxes and the very creative work of segregationists in the deep south to prevent people of color from voting. >> these people are just so vicious. they intimidated every voter here, you would get a parking ticket if you tried to vote and all that kind of stuff. >> we were not thinking tactfully about losing. if we started a voting rights march in selma, we could get the