Last year, four St. Lucas UCC members travelled to Selma, Alabama in March to visit sites meaningful to civil rights history.
The 1965 march, which was organized by members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was intended to protest the February 1965 murder of demonstrator Jimmie Lee Jackson by the Alabama state police.
The first march event on March 7, 1965 involved a bloody clash with the police, resulting in a national awareness of the brutal police attack that halted the demonstration. Days later, a second march to Montgomery began, and over five rainy and muddy days, the thousands of demonstrators arrived to
protest racism at the Alabama State Capitol steps.
On the St. Lucas UCC trip, Paul Litzsinger, Bill Biedenstein, Adam Rustige and Donovan Larson joined with an organized bike ride / run from Selma to Montgomery, retracing the 1965 march for civil rights. We four stayed in VRBOs, and spent the following days visiting museums, including the Lowdens Interpretive Center (near Selma, commemorating the 1965 march), and in Montgomery, we visited the Civil Rights Memorial Center, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Rosa Parks Museum, and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. We travelled on to Birmingham for two nights, and visited the Civil Rights Institute, and the bombing site at the 16th St. Baptist Church. And on the way home, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum, staying a night in Memphis.
The social justice committee had some discussion as to whether a similar trip should be made this year. We learned so much, but knew there was much more to see. Some of us are considering a redo, and if other members of the church would be interested, we might plan a second trip. Please contact the Social Justice Committee member, Donovan Larson, if you are interested.
St. Lucas UCC Social Justice Committee
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