Day 3- Montgomery to Selma by Tess Riesmeyer

Day 3 was full of intellectual engagement, horror at the manner in which humans brutalize humans, love, and hope. Like many of my fellow travelers, I couldn’t help but think of Mr. Person as I rode on an integrated bus further into Alabama. I am so grateful for Mr. Person and all of his fellow Freedom Riders who sacrificed and risked so much in order for our trip to be one of safety. We ride on the shoulders of giants.

Our first stop of the day was Lowndes County Interpretive Center which is part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Lowndes County was known as “Bloody Lowndes” for the violence inflicted upon its Black citizens. While home to thousands of eligible Black voters, there were none on the voting rolls of Lowndes County. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many former tenant farmers who were kicked off the land and out of their homes by wealthy landowners, moved into “Tent Cities” as they struggled to find work, permanent shelter, and food and clothing for their families. This site afforded us the first of several opportunities to consider the role of grassroots organizers and the timeline of events that led to “Bloody Sunday,” the March from Selma to Montgomery, and the eventual passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

From Lowndes, we continued on the road to Selma where we visited the Live Oak Cemetery and Confederate Memorial. We discussed what we would read on recently written historical markers and the symbols we would see in the cemetery. We were all free to choose the visit that made the most sense to us and would impart the least amount of trauma. I thank and commend our guides for acknowledging the content and offering us choices. 

Our next stop, By the River Center for Humanity, gave us the opportunity to learn, laugh, dance, and love ourselves and one another. It was here that we met Joanne Bland and Barbara Barge, two Foot Soldiers who were present on and near the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965. We were all rapted as we listened to “the history from the mouths of the people who made it.” Ms. Bland was 11-years-old when she joined her older sister, Lynda, and attempted to begin the march to Montgomery. Ms. Barge spoke of spending the night of March 7, 1965 outside because state troopers had created a shoulder-to-shoulder wall around the George Washington Carver Homes to keep anyone from leaving. This wall meant that a young girl could not cross the street to get home. Ms. Bland and Ms. Barge and hundreds more children participated in the movement to ensure that all voices could be heard. It is, thus, all the more heart-breaking that almost sixty years on, Ms Bland talks of the “systematic effort to erase our history” and Ms. Barge, an educator, laments the “abysmal” state of education in Alabama. We owe it to each and every one of the Foot Soldiers to continue the fight and to honor their work by being engaged citizens. One of the ways we can do this is by supporting Ms. brand’s work and vision for Foot Soldiers Park. You can learn more at www.footsoldierspark.org. 

Our walk from the By the River Center for Humanity to lunch at The Coffee Shoppe reminded many of us of abandoned steel towns at home. Craig Air Force Base, the basis of Selma’s economy, closed in the 1970s. 

After lunch, it was time for our walk across the Pettus Bridge. This is the experience that I have been most excited about and the reason I volunteered to write today’s blog. Prior to today, I wanted to walk it because, once again, I knew the sacrifices and pain that others had endured in order that I could make that walk without fear. After seeing the exhibit in Lowndes County and hearing from Ms. Bland and Ms. Barge, I felt even more privileged to be walking in their shoes, especially as I do not walk with the sounds of tear gas canisters, heads hitting the pavement, or billy clubs hitting bodies. As I began to traverse the span, I looked ahead to see the young people of our trip leading the way. I paused for a photo and to let my tears of joy subside before I continued on. When I crested the bridge, I saw the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and the Civil Rights Memorial, not a sea of armed state troopers. I walk on the shoulders of giants.

Sam Walker, historian and volunteer at the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, is another person who joined the movement as a child. His boisterous and energetic delivery of his experiences was our third opportunity to hear the story from a person who lived it. During our visit, we were joined by another group of young people. Sadly, they did comport themselves with respect or love for themselves or others. The young people from Pittsburgh Public Schools again distinguished themselves by their grace, thoughtfulness, and insight. They have shown each of us the giants they will become. 

Before leaving Selma, we made a quick visit to the home of Amelia Boynton. The National Park Service is currently restoring the structure for eventual use as a house museum. Mrs. Boynton began registering Black voters in the 1940s and despite every attempt to stop her, she continued to do so for more than two decades. She used her husband’s funeral as an opportunity to register voters and tired of being represented by segregationists, ran for Congress in 1964. 

Our final stop of the day was a roadside memorial to Viola Liuzzo, a mother from Detroit who heard Dr. King’s call and came to Selma. She and LeRoy Moton volunteered to drive march participants back to Selma from Montgomery. On a return trip to Montgomery, they were followed by KKK members and attacked. Violet died in the attack. 

I apologize for the abrupt ending, but I’m tired and tomorrow is another full day. Thank you to CWB and my fellow travelers. 

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