Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County,in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River,the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About 80% of the population is African-American.
Andrew Jackson Young Jr. is an American politician,diplomat,and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor,Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement,serving as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. Young later became active in politics,serving as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia,United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration,and 55th Mayor of Atlanta. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction,as well as one of the first two African Americans elected to Congress from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction,alongside Barbara Jordan of Texas. Since leaving office,Young has founded or served in many organizations working on issues of public policy and political lobbying.
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches,held in 1965,along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma,Alabama,to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the desire of African-American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote,in defiance of segregationist repression;they were part of a broader voting rights movement underway in Selma and throughout the American South. By highlighting racial injustice,they contributed to passage that year of the Voting Rights Act,a landmark federal achievement of the civil rights movement.
Amelia Isadora Platts Boynton Robinson was an American activist who was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement in Selma,Alabama,and a key figure in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.
WAKA is a television station licensed to Selma,Alabama,United States,serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM;Bahakel also provides certain services to ABC affiliate WNCF under a shared services agreement (SSA) with SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The three stations share studios on Harrison Road in north Montgomery;WAKA's transmitter is located in Gordonville,Alabama,which is about halfway between Montgomery and Selma.
Christopher E.C. Smitherman is an American politician and businessman who previously served as the Vice Mayor of Cincinnati,Ohio. An Independent,Smitherman has been a member of the Cincinnati City Council and the Cincinnati Planning Commission. Smitherman is the former president of the Cincinnati NAACP,serving from April 2007 to January 2014. From 2013 until January 2022 –when Smitherman was term limited and a newly elected council was sworn in –Smitherman chaired the Law and Public Safety Committee,giving him authority to oversee all legislative issues related to Police,Fire,Safety Policies,Citizen Complaint Authority,Liquor Licenses,and Public Services.
Selma High School is a public secondary school in Selma,Alabama. It is the only public high school in the Selma City School System.
The City of St. Jude is a 36-acre (15 ha) campus in Montgomery,Alabama,hosting a high school,hospital,and Catholic church. It was founded in 1934 by Fr Harold Purcell with the aim of bringing "light,hope and dignity to the poor," regardless of race.
Joseph Thomas Smitherman was an American politician who served more than 35 years as mayor of Selma,Alabama. He was in office during the Selma to Montgomery marches of the Civil Rights Movement. "He can do the reformed redneck better than anyone else," is a famous line about Joe Smitherman.
Wilcox Academy is an independent school in Camden,Alabama. It is accredited by the Alabama Independent School Association and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school has been described as a segregation academy.
Frederick Douglas Reese was an American civil rights activist,educator and minister from Selma,Alabama. Known as a member of Selma's "Courageous Eight",Reese was the president of the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) when it invited the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr. to Selma to amplify the city's local voting rights campaign. This campaign eventually gave birth to the Selma to Montgomery marches,which later led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
The Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) was a local organization in Dallas County,Alabama,which contains the city of Selma,that sought to register black voters during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey (R),who took office on April 10,2017,upon the resignation of Robert Bentley (R) ran for election to a full term and won over Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox. Ivey was sworn in for her first full term on January 14,2019. This was the first time since 1966 that a woman was elected Governor of Alabama.
Albert Turner was an American civil rights activist and an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. He was Alabama field secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helped lead the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery;and assisted others escape beating during the Bloody Sunday.
Robert "Bob" Mants,Jr. was an American civil rights activist,serving as a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Mants moved to Lowndes County,working for civil rights for the remainder of his life. Lowndes County contained the majority of the distance covered by the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march,and was then notorious for its racist violence.
Ellwood Christian Academy is a private,coeducational PK-12 Christian school in Selma,Alabama. It serves 269 students.
Idella Jones Childs was an American educator,historian and civil rights activist. Childs worked as a teacher for 35 years in Perry County in Alabama. During the civil rights movement,her home was a meeting place for activists. She was the mother of Jean Childs Young,who later married Andrew Young who went on to become mayor of Atlanta. Childs worked as historian,helping to put two places in Alabama on the National Register of Historic Places. She also became the first black woman to sit on the city council in Marion. Childs was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 2002. An award named after Childs is given out from the Alabama Historical Commission for the recognition of those who have contributed to the preservation of historic African American places.
Darrio Melton is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Selma from 2016 to 2020 and served in the Alabama House of Representatives from the 67th district from 2010 to 2016.
Jean Graetz,born Jean Ellis,was an American civil rights activist. She and her clergyman husband Robert Graetz were active white supporters of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955.
Malika Asha Sanders-Fortier is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Alabama Senate from the 23rd district. She assumed office on November 7,2018. She was a Democratic candidate in the 2022 Alabama gubernatorial election.
