#selmaisnow

[spiritually-naked]

My sign today for the MLK March

[franchiseluxeathleisure]

Go out and buy the DVD, rent the movie on Directv and watch it with your mother, your father, your husband, your wife, your son, your daughter, your sister, your brother, your neighbor, your best friend and your worst enemy and remind yourself that "Selma is Now" and the fight for equality for all continues! Special thank you to @iamstacybarthe #Selma #SelmaisNow #AllLivesMatter #SLCLALife #SLCLosAngeles

[franchiseluxeathleisure]

Go out and buy the DVD, rent the movie on Directv and watch it with your, mother your father, your husband, your wife, your son, your daughter, your sister, your brother, your neighbor, and remind yourself that "Selma is Now" and the fight for equality for all continues! #Selma #SelmaisNow #AllLivesMatter #SLCLALife #SLCLosAngeles

[you-are-so-full-of-rain]

I have had the amazing opportunity to go to Selma, Alabama multiple times this year. It is one of the most heartbreaking, amazing, loving, and shocking experiences I have ever had.

#SelmaIsNow 

[jvsthvst]

Selma 50 - I can't breathe.

[gcclpla-blog]

Selma Then, Selma Now

Written by Michelle Pichon

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement that took place in Selma, Alabama. I learned about the march, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks in school, in books, and in movies, but the older I got the more I learned about the bigger picture of what happened as a result of that march. Today, I am able to see that Selma was about more than Black people. It was, it is, about American People. It was the realization of an idea that all people have worth.  And today that goes beyond Black and White. Ingrained racism is still an issue today reaching past, but not excluding, physical repercussions.

As I followed the events of the commemoration, I was able to see events of the present in a different light -- like how the law-makers and courts of this country have taken the very Voting Rights Act sparked by Selma to try and make it harder for racial minorities to register and vote. Even before the 21st Century attack on immigrant families, voter ID laws and shifting voting districts were tactics used to oppress democracy in the US.

The fight for Civil Rights today includes voting rights, migrant rights, climate justice, and more. As long as schools with predominantly Black enrollment are built on toxic dumps, or people who have lived, worked, and benefited this country are not given the opportunity to make this their home, the goals  of the Selma march have not been reached.  There are more bridges for us to cross.

The images from Bloody Sunday, images reenacted in films like Selma showed us that justice and freedom don’t come easily for everyone. We have to fight for it. We are the powers that be. We have to use that power to elect officials who have the interests of the people first and not the interests of corporations or their wallets. We have work to do.

Selma is about an inclusive America. When the courts, Congress, elected officials try to take that away, it is our duty to demand it. It is our duty to protect it. I watched the commemoration of the march from Selma to Montgomery and I listened to the lyrics of “Glory” written by Jon Legend and Common for the movie Selma. And then I wrote a poem.

Selma Then and Now

1.

On the Lord’s day

50 years ago

Americans crossed the bridge in Selma

named after a Dragon

Peacefully challenged

segregationist repression

for the right of Black Americans to vote

because the Constitution does not specify Race.

Beaten, battered, bitten, and bloody

the nation

the world

saw they would not be moved.

2.

Two days later

they returned

on a Tuesday

a half mile out of town

across the bridge, over the top

and down the other side

there as far as eyes could see

flashing lights, police cars, helmeted troopers

carrying shotguns

blocking the way.

There is where they stopped

and prayed

for peace and resolution

a revolution on their knees.

And then they turned around.

3.

Through chilling rain

over 50 miles and 5 days

to the Alabama state capitol  

there were no police provocations

no dogs attacked

Jack had the protestors’ backs

all the way to Wallace’s front door.      

How long will it take?

asked a King.

He assured them

he had faith

it would not be long.

4.

50 years later

Americans converged

on Selma again

For politicians who play with the Voting Rights Act

like a child with a toy,

reading the words

narrowly, stingily

For the right to

not have toxic ash coating our  

backyards and our lungs

For justice for unarmed Black men

shot dead by police

For anyone to say “I do”

to whomever they choose

For dreamers who dream

of the chance to make it here.

The doors that Selma opened

for Black Americans                          

opened doors for all Americans.  

Selma is now.

Selma is ours.

Glory

we believe.

[-justthewayuare-]

Selma, Alabama

This trip has been one long and crazy one. I’ve taken in so much and my eyes have been opened. How in the world  could I and so many people in this country have gone so long without knowing the truth about current racism, hate groups, segregation, etc? Being in Selma feels somewhat like I am in the South during the 1960′s and before. I’ve been able to experience things that will change my life forever. Sadly, nobody in my group or I can truly talk about this experience with others because people can’t fully understand until experiencing it. The neighborhoods, schools, and cemeteries are all basically segregated STILL. I go into the middle school, look into every class room and every single last student I see is black. I have seen other schools have a lot of one race, but never to this extent. I mean this was literally 100% one race, with so many hurting children with broken homes, and living in poverty. To learn about current examples of racism is almost overwhelming. I have so many mixed emotions that I feel like I can’t even give a full thought about my emotions from this trip. Even simply knowing the facts is completely different from experiencing it. I hope for so much more people to experience this, and I hope to bring this with me for the rest of my life anywhere I go. My heart truly aches for anyone hurting or feeling hopeless. It makes me feel somewhat hopeless, but then I see organizations like the Freedom Foundation in Selma, continuing to fight and save people’s lives everyday. It’s truly a beautiful and encouraging thing. I  come here, and everyone says hello to you even if you are a stranger verses the fast-paced world in the north east where people would not even think twice about saying hi to a stranger. This trip has made me realize the racism even in the north, and just the amount of people who don’t care enough. I see too many lost people who are full of greed, and have addictions to money, power, recognition, and material things and I just see how that ruins our planet. How can we show people that this is serious, and that the Earth doesn’t revolve around one person and if it did, that would be the end of the Earth. We need more courageous people who will fight for what they believe in and for justice. I pray God bless this world that is killing itself in every way possible that isn’t even mentioned here.