From civil war to civil rights, Selma has played an important part in the history of the nation. Situated on the banks of the Alabama River, Selma has long been referred to as the queen of the “Black Belt” — a reference to the region’s rich top soil as well as its sizable African-American population. It was an important manufacturing and transportation center in the 19th century, a fact that didn’t go unrecognized by Union forces during the Civil War.
The events of March 1965, however, left a more residual mark on this small city in the heart of Dixie. One hundred years after the Confederacy lost the “Battle of Selma,” nonviolent protesters determined to gain equal access to the voting booth staged a march to Montgomery that met violent resistance at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The images broadcast worldwide forever ingrained the term “Bloody Sunday” in the national conscience. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led the ensuing peaceful march to the state capital, which ended up turning the tide of American history. Edifices of this glorious and infamous past remain intact, including that famous bridge. The highway into town from Montgomery — U.S. 80 — is now a National Historic Trail.
Don’t Miss
Bridge Crossing Jubilee, March 4-8, 2010
Hosted by the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, this annual festival commemorates the Selma to Montgomery marches, events that had a direct impact on the passage of the Voting Rights Act. A parade through town will stop at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Saturday, followed by the Jubilee street festival featuring three stages of musical entertainment. On Sunday, a bridge crossing re-enactment will recall the peaceful march led by King in 1965 that finally made its way across the bridge and all the way to Montgomery. At past jubilees, the event has drawn thousands of people, including such high-profile figures as President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, when he was an Illinois senator. Civil rights leaders who attended the original marches such as U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and the Rev. Jesse Jackson have also been on hand.
For more, go to www.thebridgecrossing jubilee.org
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute
Located next to the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the north bank of the Alabama River, this museum chronicles the history of voting rights in America, with emphasis on the events that occurred in Selma. There is also an exhibit on women’s suffrage. Monthly oral history programs, featuring firsthand accounts of past and current struggles for voting rights, are offered.
www.nvrm.org
Martin Luther King Jr. Street Walking Tour
About a mile in length, this walking tour features many landmarks and monuments along what was known as Sylvan Street before it was renamed in 1976, including the First Baptist Church, where King delivered many speeches, and the Brown Chapel AME Church, the starting point for the marches in 1965. The George Washington Carver housing project surrounds Brown Chapel, and is where many visiting civil rights leaders and organizers stayed with local residents while planning marches.
The Old Depot Museum, housed in a former railroad depot at the south end of the walking tour, contains exhibits that cover the whole of Selma’s long and varied history, including many Civil War artifacts. The tour’s route includes a small, albeit unintended irony: MLK Street intersects with Jefferson Davis Avenue, bringing together the names of the civil rights leader and the president of the Confederacy.
Sturdivant Hall
Sturdivant Hall, an antebellum mansion built in the 1850s and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, serves as a house museum featuring period antique furnishings and Greek Revival and Italianate style architecture. It is perhaps the most popular attraction in town that is not directly associated with the civil rights movement or the Civil War.
Go to www.sturdivant hall.com
Getting There
Selma is approximately 210 miles, 3 1/2 hours, from downtown Atlanta. Take I-85 South to I-65 South in Montgomery and take Exit 167 onto U.S. 80 West, which goes into Selma.
Where to Stay
St. James Hotel. Historic hotel near the Pettus bridge. Rates: $95-$185. 1200 Water Ave. 334-872-3234, www.historichotels.org/hotel/St_James_Hotel _Selma
Bridge Tenders House. A bed and breakfast perched over the river where the bridge tender for an old drawbridge used to live. Rates: $85. 2 Lafayette Park (at the foot of Washington Street), 334-875-5517
Where to Eat
Tally-Ho. Beef, pork, chicken and seafood dishes in an English pub atmosphere. Entrees: $13.95-$24.95. 509 Mangum Ave. 334-872-1390‚ www.tallyhoselma.com
The Restaurant on Grumbles Alley. Homestyle American fare in a historic building on the river near the Pettus bridge. Entrees start at $7.95. 1300 Water Ave. 334-872-2006
Visitor Information
Selma Visitor Center. 132 Broad St. 334-874-4764, www.selmaalabama.com
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