New Historical Marker to be Unveiled in Selma Honoring the Foot Soldiers of Bloody Sunday

SELMA, AL - On Monday, March 2, 2026, 5:00 PM CT, Foot Soldiers Park, in partnership with Common Power, the Institute for Common Power, and Selma Housing Authority, will host a gathering in the city of Selma at the historic Brown Chapel AME Church to unveil a new historical marker: "This Last Piece of Cement Marks Where Foot Soldiers Gathered on Bloody Sunday." Organized by Ms. Jo Ann Bland, founder of Foot Soldiers Park and herself a protestor in the voting rights campaign of 1965, the ceremony commemorates the exact ground where nearly 600 people gathered on March 7, 1965.

Led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams, and joined by hundreds of Foot Soldiers, the protesters marched through George Washington Carver Homes two-by-two toward downtown Selma to demand voting rights. They were met by law enforcement armed with clubs and tear gas in what became known as Bloody Sunday. This marker stands as a permanent tribute to their bravery and the persistence that eventually ushered in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The dedication and marker unveiling will feature remarks from former Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr., city leadership and Mayor of Selma, Johnny Moss III. The event will also include surviving Foot Soldiers, providing an opportunity for the public to stand with the men and women who shifted the course of American democracy.