Story and photos: Phillip Tutor
Veteran of voting rights marches gives her details from Bloody Sunday
SELMA — Two by two, students from the climbed along the eastern side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the hilly, 83-year-old baby直播 River crossing that鈥檚 embedded in the nation鈥檚 civil rights story.
, a UWA junior from Baltimore, had every reason to be the last student to complete the 1,300-foot walk. Three weeks ago, he tore the meniscus in his left knee while playing for the Tigers鈥� basketball team. Surgery followed, his season on hold, his knee bound in a bulky thigh-to-calf brace.
Slow and steady, he conquered the Edmund Pettus.
鈥淚鈥檇 heard about Selma all of my life,鈥� Price said, 鈥渂ut I never really thought I would have the chance to actually go.鈥�
Price鈥檚 opportunity arose when聽Student Activities聽and the聽Office of Diversity and Inclusion聽co-sponsored a trip Feb. 7 as part of the university鈥檚 Black History Month observance. A group of 50 students, faculty and staff members made the 75-mile bus ride to Dallas County, where they toured the, walked across the iconic bridge, and met Selma native Dianne Harris, who as a 15-year-old participated in four voting-rights marches, including the infamous 鈥淏loody Sunday鈥� event.
UWA鈥檚 contingent was a diverse group. UWA men鈥檚 basketball coach聽Nick Woodruff聽brought his entire team — whose height and Tiger-red basketball sweatshirts struck quite a pose in downtown Selma. Student Government Association president Aaron Lee made the trip. Joining聽Jason Gardner, the university鈥檚 director of student activities, were Dr. B.J. Kimbrough, dean of the聽School of Graduate Studies聽and UWA鈥檚 chief diversity officer; Dr.聽LaJuan Hutchinson, associate professor of sport management; and a host of university staff members.
Price left Selma with a deeper understanding of Black Alabamians鈥� struggle for voting rights in the 1960s, he said.
鈥淚t definitely made an impression because going through school and learning about it, I still didn鈥檛 know much,鈥� Price said. 鈥淢y teammates knew more about it because they’re from here, but there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know that people actually went through.”
In her hour-long presentation, Harris, a retired elementary school teacher, regaled UWA students with her first-person experiences from 1965. Because she attended a private Lutheran school instead of Selma鈥檚 public school for Black students, she admittedly was an unlikely participant in the marches. But the movement鈥檚 passion among Selma鈥檚 teenagers was too strong to resist.
Harris marched four times. On Bloody Sunday, she and her younger brother defied their mother鈥檚 wishes and joined in — not at the front of the group, but at the rear, which kept them from crossing the bridge. From the back, Harris could smell the tear gas wafting over the hill and hear the screams of Black residents being pummeled by state troopers鈥� billy clubs.
When troopers on horseback — 鈥減ossemen,鈥� they were called — chased marchers back toward downtown, Harris and her brother bolted for the safety of Brown Chapel AME Church. A posseman nearly caught them before they ran inside and hid in a pew, his horse鈥檚 hooves clapping on the church鈥檚 concrete front steps.
鈥淚t was God鈥檚 saving grace that we didn鈥檛 cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge,鈥� Harris said.
UWA students begin the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Twice she was arrested while marching. After Harris鈥� second march, she was arrested, fingerprinted, photographed and held eight hours at a former prison camp just outside of Selma. Her third march ended when she was among students imprisoned overnight in Selma鈥檚 National Guard Armory. Troopers told students they鈥檇 have criminal records and never get a job, she said.
Harris rejoined the UWA students when they reached the bridge鈥檚 southern terminus. Near the spot where troopers first began beating marchers, including future U.S. Sen. John Lewis, Harris showed students civil rights monuments that decorate a nondescript grassy plot alongside U.S. 80 Business.
鈥淚t was powerful having Ms. Harris with us,鈥� Kimbrough said. 鈥淭o me, that just pulled on my heartstrings, hearing her stories. I think the students got a lot out of it. I heard a lot of chatter and conversations.鈥�
Some of the students, such as Price, weren鈥檛 baby直播 natives and had never been to Selma. Others, such as , one of Price鈥檚 teammates, were Alabamians but hadn鈥檛 walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge, either. Though Melton鈥檚 paternal family includes Selma roots, he found Harris鈥� story and the bridge鈥檚 legacy worth the day-long trip. It was his first time traversing the bridge, as well.
鈥淚t was very eye opening and fascinating,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s crazy how, as an African American myself, I can just walk around now and not even look over my back or anything. It鈥檚 just a different point of view from now to back then. It’s totally different. You can be nothing but grateful.鈥�
Gardner and Kimbrough envision Selma being including in a four-year, rolling schedule of Black History Month trips that will enrich students鈥� understanding of the civil rights movement. Their wish list is a schedule of annual excursions that includes Selma, Memphis ( and the Lorraine Motel), Atlanta (the and the ), and a variety of sites for the fourth year. Options could include the or the location just north of Mobile.
鈥淚 think (Selma) was powerful,鈥� Kimbrough said. 鈥淚 am so grateful that we had students who took advantage of this opportunity. We wanted to provide opportunities for them to see places and experience things. I think this trip gave them that.鈥�
