Selma Alabama Civil Rights Driving Tour

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1. Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church: "I Had A Dream" Historical Marker

Outside of the Brown Chapel AME Church is a historical marker remembering the events that occurred in Selma, AL. March 21, 1965 marked the peak of the civil rights movement when over 3,000 people joined Martin Luther King, Jr. on a march for equal voting rights. The 5 day, 54 mile march began outside of the Brown Chapel AME Church and was to move onward to the capital in Montgomery. Successful in their efforts, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 just months after this demonstration.

2. First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church along with Brown Chapel AME Church were pivotal locations of the Civil Rights Movement. Located in Selma, Alabama a vital place in the civil rights movement, not only did they play a role in Selma, but in the movement as a whole. Built in 1894 by a local Black architect by the name of Dave Benjamin West, the church is considered to be one of the most architecturally significant Black churches in the state of those from the late 19th-Century. This small church would go on to host monument meetings, which, in turn, made giant progressions in the fight for equality.

3. R.B Hudson High School

This school was the city of Selma's first public high school for African-Americans. Completed in 1949, the school was named in honor of Richard Byron Hudson, a Black educator. R.B Hudson High School played a major role for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Students that attended this school participated first hand with issues that effect the Civil Rights Movement.

4. Live Oak Cemetery

In the deep south in the heart of the struggle for the Civil Rights movement there is a Cemetery in Selma, Alabama that houses several people of distinction. A former Vice President of the United States and two United States Senators who were also Generals with the Confederacy. Along with several other men of distinction the commander of the Virginia during one of the significant Naval battles during the Civil War. There is also a Confederate Monument and Memorial in the Cemetery.

5. Edmund Winston Pettus House Site

Edmund Pettus was a lawyer a General in the Confederate Army and was a United States senator. The Edmund Pettus Bridge was named after him which was the site of the Bloody Sunday Events during the Civil Rights battles during the sixties. The ironic thing about the bridge that would be site of a major civil rights battle being named after Edmund was that he was a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Although for many years he did not live in this house in Selma spending many of his early years in different states. He lived in this house from 1866 until his death in 1907.

6. Ancient Africa, Enslavement and Civil War Museum

The Ancient Africa, Enslavement and Civil War Museum is dedicated to preserving and educating the public about African American history from ancient civilizations in Africa through the Civil War. It is located not far from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where, in 1965, voting rights activists were severely beaten by police as they tried to march across the bridge. The museum aims to give visitors a greater understanding of slavery and the impact it has had on American history.

7. James Joseph Reeb Memorial

James Joseph Reeb was a white Unitarian minister who worked with less fortunate people in Boston. In 1965 he responded to the call by Martin Luther King for clergy to come to Selma, Alabama to protest the violence against civil rights marchers. James Reeb traveled to Selma for the protest march that took place on March 9th, 1965. That same day James Reeb and two other ministers where attacked by a group of white supremacist. He obtained a head injury and was pronounced dead two days later on March 11th.

8. Selma- Edmund Pettus Bridge

The site of one of the most famous events in civil rights history, Edmund Pettus Bridge was the location of the "Bloody Sunday" attack on peaceful civil rights protesters on March 7, 1965. The bridge was built in 1940 and crosses the Alabama River. There were three previous attempts to complete a civil rights march in Selma prior to the decision of police officers to block the bridge and then attack the protesters on March 7th, a day known today as "Bloody Sunday." After the nation, including many white Southerners, responded with outrage in response to photos and videos showing police officers beating marchers while they lay helpless on the ground, Alabama police decided to permit the civil rights march to proceed. Martin Luther King Jr. led a second march across the bridge on March 9,1965. With the support of a court order, a third civil rights march brought 25,000 participants to Selma to participate in marches the following month.

9. National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute displays materials and artifacts from the voting rights struggle in America, especially those that highlight the experiences, which fueled "Bloody Sunday”, the Selma to Montgomery March, and the Civil Rights Movement throughout the South. The NVRMI provides research forums, community action, and makes presentations that impact or support voting rights issues in America.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Selma Alabama Civil Rights Driving Tour

Created by Izzy Bennett on December 7th 2020, 8:20:48 pm.

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Description

During the Civil Rights Movement Selma Alabama had its own series of marches that resulted in the "Bloody Sunday" attack on peaceful protestors on Edmund Pettus Bridge. This tour visits several buildings and locations throughout Selma that are notable for their connection to the Civil Rights Movement. This tour begins at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church and ends at the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute where you can learn more about the struggle for voting rights and the Civil Rights Movement.

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African American History

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Selma Alabama Civil Rights Driving Tour

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