During the month of March, several civil protests occurred throughout Alabama. On March 7, an estimated 600 civil rights activists held a march from Selma to Montgomery protesting the denial of African-American voting rights in the state. On March 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. spearheads a five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. The protest retraced the original marches and began with 3300 participants and grew to 25,000 marchers by the time it reached the Alabama capital four days later. Following this actions, President Lyndon Johnson proposes the Voting Rights Act to Congress, which would guarantee African-American voting throughout southern states. In August, the Act is signed into law.

Motown has five songs on the Top 10 records on the Billboard Magazine chart. The record company holds the 1, 2, and 3 positions on the charts for a month.