Visiting Selma and Old Cahawba

Alabama

Voting Rights: A Journey Through Time

Of course, Selma was on our list to visit as well. We especially wanted to see the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge, known for the brutal Bloody Sunday attacks. After civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson was murdered in February 1965, other activists intended to march 54 miles to Montgomery to protest the voting barriers for African Americans. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, these peaceful civil rights marchers were attacked and beaten by state law enforcement when they attempted to cross the bridge. Only on the 3rd attempt did the march continue to the state capitol under federal protection. The march created national awareness of African Americans’ voting rights difficulties. Five months later, in August 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since then, African Americans in the South have been able to register to vote.

Today, the Edmund Pettus Bridge is a historic landmark and is part of NPS’s 54-mile Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Next to the bridge is a monument and park dedicated to leaders of the Voting Rights Movement.

I find it hard to believe that in my generation, I was a toddler in 1965, African Americans were still denied basic rights like voting. Rights I personally have always taken for granted. However, visiting these historical civil rights movement sites made me aware that these rights have been fought hard for and never should be taken for granted.

Old Cahawba, Alabama's First Capital

We also visited Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, about 8 miles southeast of Selma. Old Cahawba was Alabama’s first flourishing capital city, strategically located near the Alabama and Cahaba rivers. After the Civil War, it became a ghost town. The grid system is still visible today, with only a few buildings left to see. We saw preservation efforts to protect the fragile remains of one building.

The characteristic Carpenter Gothic church – Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church – has made quite a journey. Initially built in Cahawba, the church was dismantled and moved, and in 2006, brought back to the park and placed across the visitor center.

Date

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Distance

3.13 miles
2.19 miles

Moving Time

1:09:50 hrs
46:20 hrs