Day 3 (3/28/23): Selma back to Montgomery

LOCATION: Selma —> back to Montgomery (by car). Peter’s Post. 

We spent the good part of a day in Selma listening to Ms. Jo Ann Bland who has been an activist for equal justice since she was a kid.  We managed to get ourselves invited to join two different tour groups from around the country who had booked time with her and felt welcomed by all.  Her story telling was worth the trip all by itself and I realize that one can read all the books and see the pictures but there is nothing like hearing people’s personal stories up close and personal and being in the places where the events went down.  Ms. Bland was inspired by her grandmother who helped raise her after her mother died for lack of a blood transfusion while hospitalized because “black” blood had to be brought from Birmingham (an hour and a half away) and was too late to save her.  Her grandmother had moved to the North and had experience with non-segregation and held out a vision of freedom for her grandchildren.  Ms. Bland was 11 when she and her siblings joined the march to Montgomery, including Bloody Sunday where her 14 year-old sister was clubbed unconscious and needed 35 stitches to close the wounds in her head.  Her sister still completed the entire march to Montgomery.    

Lots to say about Ms. Bland but mostly struck by her commitment, her persistence, her love and humanity in the face of incredible odds.  Her presence in the room is palpable.  When young people show up and ask questions, she cuts them no slack and doesn’t suffer fools … but she calls people to attention and action with love.  Check out her website and maybe think about booking your own tour to Montgomery and Selma or donating to the incredible work she’s doing in the community. 

A little bit about Selma.  We were told it was a very wealthy commercial center up until the turn of the 20th century and beyond.  We were told that people used to come from Birmingham to shop.  If you know the scene now, you’d find that preposterous.  Selma now is struggling economically and the beautiful old but run down buildings cry out for renovation and revitalization.  In fact, there is quite a bit of that going on and a lot more to go.  This picture taken from the Edmund Pettus Bridge shows the river side of the Selma Times Journal Building (far right with red brick foundation) that was recently purchased by friends of Common Power to be fixed up and serve as a local presence for that organization.  Jo Ann Bland will also have an office in that building.  

Here is a recent article from the Selma Times Journal describing the transaction.  Yay for Selma, Common Power, and Jo Ann Bland! 

https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2022/04/20/historic-stj-buildings-sold/

One of the points Ms. Bland made was that each and every one of us is part of the puzzle to get to a place where equality is a reality.  She drove this point home to all the young people to say that no one is exempt from this assignment.  “You are the most important piece” of the puzzle she would say and I think we all got it.  She didn’t tell people what to do, she just said you need to figure it out.  “If I knew all that needed to be done, we wouldn’t be here talking about it. So you go figure it out,” she said.  Here is a picture from a mural about her.  

This is the full mural at a site that housed a playground with all kinds of climbing equipment and swings for kids when she was a kid.  It’s now a concrete slab with some basketball hoops.  Her goal is to raise money to recreate a community center and park and playground for the neighborhood, to bring people to gather and take back the narrative of their story.

The 11 x 13 = Jail represents the 13 times she was jailed by the time she was 11.  She describes being locked up with 30-40 other people (“and I wasn’t the youngest”) in a cell meant for 2 people with a toilet and one metal bunk and no mattress.  She is living testament to people who were so tired of being ignored, abused, and humiliated that they would suffer anything to change things.  She would say things have changed a lot but we’re not done … we’re not done.   

Another story of revitalization is the St. James Hotel a block down Water St from the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  They have their work cut out for them, keeping up and old building and finding staff to provide services for guests but they’re open and on it.   We were able to get dinner there after our bike ride from Montgomery… thank goodness… we were not in the condition to go looking for sustenance and it would have been hard to find.   

In closing… Laura and I were really inspired by Ms Bland and grateful for all she has done.  It’s been amazing.   Also, I would be remiss to not mention that Selma, in addition to fighting urban blight and decay, got hammered by a tornado in January that leveled sections of the city.  People lost everything, including a lot of renters who had no insurance to help replace their belongings even if the landlords had insurance on the buildings.  We didn’t see the worst sections of town but you don’t have to drive very far from the river to see blocks completely torn up.  They had a housing crisis before the tornado it and it’s that much worse now.