Edmund Pettus Bridge, crossing the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama, that was the site of what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” a landmark event in the history of the American civil rights movement. On that day, March 7, 1965, white law-enforcement officers violently dispersed protesters, the vast majority of whom were African American, as they crossed the bridge during the first attempt to initiate the Selma March.Martin Luther King speech at Brown Chapel, January 1965: When we get the right to vote, we will send to the statehouse not men who will stand in the doorways of universities to keep Negroes out, but men who will uphold the cause of justice. Give us the ballot.Memorial to Martin Luther KingFirst Baptist Church was the first church in Selma to host meetings and activities of the Dallas County Voters League, violating unconstitutional anti-mass meeting laws, where in 1965 it organized the Selma to Montgomery march.Monuments at Civil Rights Memorial Park
In the 1950s blacks were not allowed to sit in the front half of public buses. They were expected to go to the back of the bus. And if a white person wanted their seat, the black was expected to give up their seat to the white person. Rose Parks refused to do this 1955.The Rosa Parks Museum is a good tribute to Rosa Parks.The waiting room before going into the exhibits highlights civil rights leaders in US history.This exhibit dramatizes Rosa Parks on the bus in 1955Here, Rosa is sitting on a seat, and the bus driver is telling her she needs to give up her seat.She refused, so now the police have been called in.After Parks’ arrest, people on the bus watch with emotion.Martin Luther King exhibit.Churches were active in opposing the way buses were conducted.One of Rosa Parks’ coats.
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Martin Luther King was pastor here 1954-1960.Dexter Avenue Baptist Church parsonage. Martin Luther King lived here while he was pastor.Legacy Park, across the street from the Legacy Museum.First Baptist ChurchHank Williams statue. This was my father’s favorite singer.First White House of the Confederacy.We ate lunch at this historic hot dog place.
Alabama’s capitolRotundaOld Senate chamber. The new chambers are in a building across the street.Old House of Representatives chamber.Beautiful architecturePortrait of former governor George WallacePortrait of former governor Lurleen Wallace, wife of Governor George WallaceArtwork in the rotunda dome.Jefferson Davis 1808-1889 Graduate of West Point Military Academy Colonel Mississippi Volunteers, Mexican War Member US House of Representatives US Senator, Secretary of War President of the Confederate States of AmericaRosa Parks
