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Selma, Alabama, is known for its role in the Civil Rights movement. There are several different landmarks around town directly related to the Voting Rights March of 1965.
Introduction to Selma
The area making up Selma was originally inhabited by members of the Muscogee tribe. The city was founded in 1815 and incorporated in 1820. Politician William R. King (1786-1853) laid out the plans and named the city.
During the Civil War, Selma was one of the main arms manufacturing and shipbuilding centers for the Confederacy. The Union attempted to invade the city but failed on three separate occasions. A fourth attempt resulted in the Battle of Selma, which was fought on April 2, 1865. Major General James H. Wilson (1837-1925) won the battle for the Union, defeating Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877).
In 1866, Selma became the seat of Dallas County. Jim Crow laws of racial segregation were heavily enforced, and several African-Americans were lynched at the county courthouse and jail. Poll taxes and literacy tests passed in 1901 made the situation even worse, disenfranchising most blacks and thousands of poor whites.
In the 1960s, Selma became the epicenter of the Voting Rights movement in America. This culminated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. More recently, Selma has been focusing on heritage tourism as a way to combat the decline of the town’s agriculture and industry. The city has lost about ⅓ of its population since the 1960s and is one of Alabama’s poorest cities.
National Voting Rights Museum
First, if you’re entering Selma from Montgomery, on the left hand side before crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge is the National Voting Rights Museum, located near the spot where police attacked protesters trying to cross the bridge for the first time March 7, 1965. It’s supposed to be a fantastic museum but it was closed when we arrived.
The museum hours are 10am to 4pm Monday to Thursday, but the ranger at the National Park Service’s Selma Interpretive Center across the bridge told us it isn’t always open when it should be. Adult admission is US$6.50 (as of January 2024).
Civil Rights Memorial Park
Across the street is the Civil Rights Memorial Park. It includes granite monuments dedicated to leaders and protesters who partook in the Voting Rights March; a mural honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and those killed as a result of the march; and other monuments.
There’s also a trail through a wooded area and a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Tomb of the Unknown Slave. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated to the 40,000 black men who died fighting in the Civil War. The Tomb of the Unknown Slave is dedicated to the unknown millions of African people who died during the years of slavery.
Songs of Selma Park
At the corner of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and Water Street is Songs of Selma Park, where you can get a good look at the bridge and the Alabama River.
Water Street
Water Street is a very depressed area with lots of abandoned historic buildings, but they have charm. Other than the cars parked near the corner with Broad Street, sadly, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
St. James Hotel
The first important building you come to on Water Street is the St. James Hotel. It was built in 1837 and was once managed by Benjamin Sterling Turner, the first African American to serve in the US Congress. Considered to be one of the most haunted places in Alabama, the hotel had fallen into disrepair long before we walked by. Fortunately, the hotel reopened in February 2021 after a long renovation.
Along the ground floor on the outside of the hotel, which was mostly boarded up, there were chalk drawings on display. They were made by local students commemorating the Voting Rights March.
Riverside Park
Just after the St. James Hotel, we turned right and entered Riverside Park, which is a nice green space on the Alabama River.
Slavery and Civil War Museum
Further along is the Slavery and Civil War Museum. We had also planned to visit this museum, but it was unfortunately closed when we walked by. It’s supposed to be open 10am to 5pm with an adult admission of US$6.50 (as of January 2024). You can get combined admission to the this museum and the National Voting Rights Museum for US$10.90 (as of January 2024).
Old Depot Museum
At the end of Water Street is the Old Depot Museum, which chronicles the history of Selma from its founding through the Civil War and Civil Rights movement. It’s housed in a former railway depot built in 1891 on the site of the Confederate Naval Foundry. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm, but we decided not to visit. Adult admission is US$7 (as of January 2024).
Vaughan-Smitherman Museum
Finally, there are two important antebellum structures located in Selma. First is the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. This Greek Revival building was built in 1847 as the Central Masonic Institute, and served as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War. It was also used as the Dallas County Courthouse from 1866 to 1902, the Selma Military Institute from 1902 to 1908, and the Vaughan Memorial Hospital from 1911 to 1960. It sat vacant until the city purchased the building in 1969 and restored it in 1973.
The Vaughn-Smitherman Museum is dedicated to the history of Selma. The third floor is set up as a hospital, probably as it would have looked during its time as the Vaughn Memorial Hospital. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Admission is charged.
Sturdivant Hall
The other building is Sturdivant Hall, which is further to the north. It was built in 1856 for Colonel Edward T. Watts and is known as one of the finest Greek Revival mansions in the South. The city of Selma bought the house in 1957 and converted it into a museum. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm and charges a reasonable admission.
Voting Rights Landmarks in Selma
Before heading out on the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, visiting landmarks related to the Voting Rights movement will easily enhance your experience. There are several different landmarks to see, but the most important are listed here.
Dallas County Courthouse
First of all, the Dallas County Courthouse was the reason the Voting Rights movement kicked off. It was here where African-Americans lined up to register to vote and in most cases were denied that right. Demonstrations took place on the eastern side of the courthouse.
Federal Building
Demonstrations also took place at the Federal Building across the street, drawing attention to the US Government’s inactivity on the Voting Rights issue. The Federal Building was built in 1909 and is now a US Post Office.
Tabernacle Baptist Church
Tabernacle Baptist Church, built in 1922, hosted the city’s first mass meeting on voting rights in 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) spoke there on several occasions.
Clark Elementary School
Clark Elementary School opened in 1894. In January 1965, local teachers from the school marched to the Dallas County Courthouse to register to vote. It was seen as a courageous move by public employees who could have easily lost their jobs.
Sullivan Jackson Home
Sullivan Jackson, an African-American dentist, regularly hosted civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), and Rev. Andrew Young at his house. From the house, which was built in 1906, those leaders negotiated with the US Justice Department about the Bloody Sunday events and the 1965 Voting Rights March.
Sullivan Building
The Sullivan Building served as the offices of Sam Boynton (1901-1963) and Amelia Boynton Robinson (1905-2015). These civil rights activists hosted meetings for the Dallas County Voters League in the 1950s and 1960s.
Public Safety Building
Across the street is the Cecil B. Jackson Public Safety Building, which was once the Selma City Hall and Jail. During demonstrations in the 1960s, many civil rights activists were arrested and held there, including Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy.
First Baptist Church
The First Baptist Church was built in 1894. It’s the oldest African-American Baptist congregation in Selma and the second oldest in Alabama. The Dallas County Voters League held meetings there, and Martin Luther King spoke there. In March 1965, marchers injured in the Bloody Sunday attack received treatment in the church’s basement. It was also a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery march.
Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital was built in 1944 and has been abandoned since 1983. Jimmie Lee Jackson (1938-1965), who was shot in nearby Marion during a peaceful voting rights demonstration on February 18, 1965, was brought to Good Samaritan but later died from his wounds. The hospital also treated Bloody Sunday victims.
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church was the main starting point for the Selma to Montgomery March. It hosted mass meetings for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The church was built in 1908, and there are monuments to Martin Luther King and civil rights activists out front. It was named a National Historic Landmark on December 12, 1997.
George Washington Carver Homes
The George Washington Carver Homes are a large public housing project erected in 1952. Many civil rights activists who took part in the Selma to Montgomery March stayed with families living in the homes.
Rev. James J. Reeb Memorial
A memorial stands on the spot where Rev. James J. Reeb (1927-1965) was brutally attacked on March 9, 1965. Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister, was a civil rights activist and member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The night he was attacked, he had just eaten dinner at a black café with two other ministers.
After they left, they made a wrong turn and ended up near the Silver Moon Café, which was an all-white club. Four white men approached them and beat Reeb on the head with a club while knocking the others to the ground and kicking them. Reeb died two days later in a Birmingham hospital. All four men were indicted on murder charges. An all-white jury acquitted three of the men while the fourth fled to Mississippi and never faced trial. On the building near the memorial is a mural dedicated to voting rights.
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Finally, the most symbolic landmark in Selma is the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a National Historic Landmark since February 27, 2013. The bridge, which was built in 1940, is named for Edmund Pettus (1821-1907), a Confederate brigadier general, US Senator, and Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.
Activists made three attempts to cross the bridge. Activists first attempted to cross the bridge on March 7, 1965, which is commonly known as Bloody Sunday. Police attacked the protesters with billy clubs and tear gas as they attempted to march to Montgomery, injuring several people.
A second attempt occurred on March 9 led by Martin Luther King. The activists walked across the bridge, knelt in prayer, and then turned around. This became known as Turnaround Tuesday.
The third and successful attempt occurred after federal judge Frank Minis Johnson (1918-1999) ruled that the activists had First Amendment rights to march in protest. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the Alabama National Guard to escort the marchers.
On Sunday, March 21, 1965, nearly 8,000 people assembled at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, walked through Selma, and crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge to begin the march to Montgomery. Among them were not only black activists and leaders, but activists of different races and religions. John Lewis (1940-2020), Rev. Hosea Williams (1926-2000), Amelia Boynton Robinson, Marie Foster (1917-2003), Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Iakovos (1911-2005), Pastor Joseph Ellwanger, Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) and Maurice Davis (1921-1993), and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth (1922-2011) all marched alongside Martin Luther King.
