Foot Soldiers Park marked the anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) at its annual semi-formal event – Commemorating 61 Years of the Voting Rights Act — and Renewing the Fight to Protect the Right to Vote. It was a powerful evening of reflection, live music, fellowship and community.
Civic leaders, elected officials, foot soldiers and community members gathered together to honor the courage of the foot soldiers whose sacrifices and determination helped advance voting rights in America.
The anniversary comes at a key moment in the nation’s history – as the Supreme Court recently weakened Section 2 of the VRA, opening the door for states to pass laws that purposely dilute Black voting power.
“When national protections are weakened, local collective action becomes even more important,” CEO Kimberly Smitherman exclaimed, rallying the crowd. “When history is challenged, we have to tell the truth louder. When people grow tired, we have to remind them what our elders taught us: freedom work has never been easy, but it has always been necessary.”
Kimberly gave a special acknowledgement to the life and legacy of our late co-founder Jo Ann Bland, and asked everyone to recommit to the work that Ms. Bland gave her life to.
She called on the guests and community at large to organize, educate themselves about the city’s civil rights history, share that history with their children, vote and hold their leaders accountable.
One of the most meaningful moments of the evening was Foot Soldiers Park recognizing the 1965 foot soldier Albert Southall who marched with Ms. Bland, presenting him with a medal for their courage, sacrifice, and contributions to the movement.
As the evening came to a close, one thing was clear: the legacy of the foot soldiers lives on in every person committed to carrying the fight for voting rights forward.
Foot Soldiers Park recently joined Alabama Forward to host a Shake the Field Book Club discussion of Carol Anderson’s One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy.
The gathering was an intimate and thoughtful conversation about the history of voter suppression, the weakening of the Voting Rights Act and the ways barriers to voting continue to affect communities today.
Anderson’s book examines how modern voter suppression often operates through policies and administrative practices such as restrictive voter identification requirements, voter-roll purges, polling-place closures, felony disenfranchisement, and racial or partisan gerrymandering. Participants discussed how these practices can appear less visible than the violence associated with the voting rights movement of the 1960s while still limiting access to the ballot and weakening the political power of entire communities.
The conversation also focused on Alabama’s central place in the history of voting rights. Participants reflected on Shelby County v. Holder, the Alabama case that weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and discussed how voting restrictions and redistricting battles continue to shape political participation across the state.
Hosting the discussion around the history of Selma gave the conversation particular significance. Selma is remembered around the world as a place where ordinary people risked their lives to demand the right to vote. The book club created space to consider how that struggle continues today and why communities must remain informed, organized and prepared to defend voting access.
The discussion closely connects to Foot Soldiers Park’s Civil Rights in Action work, which carries the lessons of Selma’s history into present-day civic engagement. Through voter education, community outreach, partnerships and opportunities for residents to become more involved in civic life, Foot Soldiers Park works to ensure that the movement for voting rights is understood not only as history, but as an ongoing responsibility.
Although the gathering was small, the conversation was meaningful and deeply engaging. Participants were able to share personal observations, ask questions and examine how communities can recognize and respond to modern forms of voter suppression.
The Shake the Field Book Club is designed for people ages 18–45 to explore social movement history and strategy, whether they are longtime organizers or just beginning to become involved. The discussion of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy. reinforced a central lesson of Selma’s history: democracy must be actively protected, expanded and passed forward to the next generation.
Foot Soldiers Park proudly hosted Jo Ann Bland Day — a celebration of the life, legacy, and lasting impact of our co-founder and civil rights leader Jo Ann Bland. Guests included Mayor Johnny Moss III, City Council President Kennard Randolph, Councilwoman Jannie Thomas, representatives from the National Park Service, foot soldiers and community members who gathered to honor Ms. Bland’s contributions to Selma and beyond.
After Ms. Bland passed earlier this year, Selma’s City Council approved a resolution declaring July 29th—what would have been her 73rd birthday this year—Jo Ann Bland Day.
“[Ms. Bland’s] life embodied courage, resilience, humility, truth and love, and her legacy has transformed Selma into a sacred place of reflection, pilgrimage, and renewed commitment to justice,” said Mayor Moss. “I, Mayor Johnny Moss, III, do hereby proclaim July 29, 2026 as Jo Ann Blackmon Bland Day in Selma. We further commit ourselves to carrying forward her vision — and preserving our history, protecting the right to vote, and ‘Marching Ever Forward’ toward justice.”
Councilwoman Jannie Thomas was presented with the first-ever Jo Ann Bland Award. During her remarks, she shared her deep appreciation for Ms. Bland, reflecting on the many times Ms. Bland and Foot Soldiers Park provided her with space for her Clean Up Selma Conference. Her words were filled with gratitude and respect for the incredible work Foot Soldiers Park continues to do throughout the community, encouraging the organization to keep moving forward in the footsteps of Ms. Bland.
The highlight of the event was the unveiling of Jo Ann Bland’s mural. As the covering came down, smiles filled the room, creating a heartfelt and unforgettable moment. Renowned mural artist Cbabi Bayoc and his wife, Amber Howlett Bayoc, shared how much Foot Soldiers Park and Ms. Bland meant to them personally. Their dedication was evident as Cbabi traveled nine hours to Selma to complete the mural. Beginning work on Monday, he finished the piece by Wednesday, just in time for the unveiling ceremony. Their commitment reflected the connection and admiration so many people continue to have for Jo Ann Bland and the mission of Foot Soldiers Park.
Although Ms. Bland is deeply missed, the celebration was a powerful reminder that her legacy continues to inspire those who knew her and the generations who will learn from her story.
“Jo Ann Bland Day is not just a day to say her name. It is a day to remember what she stood for and to recommit ourselves to the work she gave so much of her life to. Foot Soldiers Park exists because we believe, as she believed, that Selma’s story still has the power to teach, to heal, to challenge, and to move people to action. Now we must carry her legacy as a community.”
The Jo Ann Bland Day was a testament to the enduring community she helped build, a community of leaders and activists who will continue to honor her vision through service, education, and preservation of our civil rights history.
Explore the media coverage of the event in the links below:
- Alabama Political Reporter: Selma marks first Jo Ann Bland Day with mural and community tribute
- Black Belt News Network: Foot Soldiers Park celebrates first Jo Ann Bland Day
- WSFA 12: Selma celebrates first official Jo Ann Bland Day with mural, tours and community remembrance
- The Selma Times Journal: Foot Soldiers Park to celebrate inaugural Jo Ann Bland Day
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks standing in the room. It happened because five months earlier, on March 7, 600 foot soldiers marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to take a stand about their right to vote. They were met by state troopers with tear gas, clubs, and horses – a violent moment in our nation’s history that placed the voting rights issue front and center in the minds of the American public. Among these marchers was an 11-year-old Jo Ann Bland, our late co-founder. At the time, only 335 of Selma’s roughly 15,000 Black residents of voting age were registered to vote.
The VRA did what it was written to do – outlaw the literacy tests, poll taxes, and the tricks states used to keep Black voters out of the election process. States and counties with a history of discrimination had to get any changes to voting rules approved by the federal government first. By 1967, more than half of all Black Americans were registered to vote.
As Foot Soldiers Park CEO Kimberly Smitherman put it at this year’s VRA Anniversary event, “no victory is permanent, and every win needs to be protected at all times.”
That warning proved true this past April when the Supreme Court weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — the tool communities use to challenge voting maps drawn to weaken their voice. The justices rewrote Section 2 to require proof of intentional racial discrimination — a standard nearly impossible to meet, and eerily close to the impossible tests used to block Black voters during Jim Crow.
Alabama lawmakers were in a special session within a week, reaching back for a congressional map a court had already thrown out for diluting Black voting power. By June, the state was using it anyway. Alabama is more than a quarter Black. Two of its seven congressional seats belonged to Black voters — a second seat that took three years in court to win. It took five weeks to remove.
Discrimination doesn’t always announce itself. It shows up in precinct closures and absentee ballot restrictions — the same old goal wearing new language. And sometimes, like in Alabama, it’s not even subtle: lawmakers reaching back for a map a court had already thrown out and using it anyway.
This is what happens when national protections weaken: communities like Selma feel it first. It’s also why Foot Soldiers Park exists — to preserve the truth of what Selma sacrificed, and to build the civic infrastructure that keeps that sacrifice from being erased quietly, one redrawn map at a time.
Sixty-one years after the signing, the question is the same one the foot soldiers answered on that bridge: whether the systems around the right to vote are built to protect it, or built to erode it. Selma has answered that question before, by organizing, marching, and voting until the law had no choice but to catch up. That’s the answer now, too.
Dallas County voters already cast ballots on May 19 — and on August 11, they’ll head back for a second time this year to vote in the Selma-Dallas County special primary and weigh in on the 7th Congressional District race. If that’s left you wondering why this election exists at all, you’re not alone. Here’s the short version, plus what’s actually on your Dallas County ballot.
Why is there a special primary?
Alabama’s congressional district lines changed this year for four districts, including District 7. The Alabama state legislature changed the lines after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it harder to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps and opened the door for the state to adopt a new map. Because the lines changed, the primary held in May under the old map no longer counts, so it’s being redone under the new one.
Foot Soldiers Park believes this ruling is a serious setback for Black voters. The new map that the Alabama state legislature adopted is one another federal court had previously found weakened Black voting strength in Alabama. That makes it even more important that eligible voters in this district turn out for elections and make their voice heard.
Selma-Dallas County is part of District 7, which is why voters here are back at the polls on August 11.
What’s on the Dallas County ballot August 11th
For most Dallas County voters, this is a one-race ballot: people will select the Republican candidate for U.S. Representative, District 7. The choices are:
- Ammie Akin – an educator and entrepreneur with nearly 25 years in classrooms, school leadership, and higher education, running on rural healthcare, agriculture, broadband, and reducing federal spending.
- David Perry – a community-service advocate focused on transparency in government, economic development, public safety, and expanded mental health services.
There’s no Democratic primary to vote in. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, a Selma native seeking her ninth term, is the only certified Democratic candidate for District 7, so she moves straight to the November 3 general election unopposed in the primary.
Whoever wins the Republican primary will face Sewell in November. The district hasn’t sent a Republican to Congress in more than six decades.
A few things worth double-checking before you vote
Because this is a standalone special primary, a few of the usual rules work a little differently:
- You can pick either party’s ballot, regardless of which ballot you voted in May – Democrat or Republican, your choice, made fresh at the polls.
- Voter registration deadline: Monday, July 27, 2026 (already passed – if you’re registered, you’re set)
- Absentee ballot application deadline: received by Tuesday, August 4 (mail) or Thursday, August 6 (hand-delivered)
- Hand-delivered absentee ballots are due on Monday August 10, by close of business.
- Mailed absentee ballots must arrive by noon on Election Day, August 11.
- Bring a physical photo ID. Digital IDs aren’t accepted at the polls.
- Bring a physical photo ID. Digital IDs aren’t accepted at the polls.
Polls are open 7:00am to 7:00pm on August 11.
Get the full picture
Foot Soldiers Park is releasing a full election guide with candidate detail, absentee voting instructions, and know-your-rights information for Dallas County voters. We do not endorse candidates — our goal is simply to make sure every eligible voter in Selma-Dallas County has what they need to cast an informed vote.
Get the Selma and Dallas County Special Primary Election 2026 Guide
The guide is available digitally and in print.
Printed copies: Contact Foot Soldiers Park at frances@footsoldierspark.org to request printed guides or to find out about distribution in your neighborhood.
Need a ride to the polls?
Foot Soldiers Park is ready to help. If transportation is a barrier to voting, contact us and we’ll work to connect you with a ride on Election Day. Getting to the polls should never be the reason someone doesn’t vote.
Reach us at frances@footsoldierspark.org or scan the QR code in the printed guide to fill out a ride request form.
Special Primary Election Day: August 11, 2026.
Foot Soldiers Park’s 5th Annual “Still We Rise” Juneteenth Celebration honored the legacy of emancipation while activating Selma residents around civic engagement, community healing, and joy. This year’s commemoration brought families, elders, and youth together for an afternoon of live music, spoken word, and children’s activities, alongside civic action stations and community resource tables that connected neighbors with tools to vote, organize, and thrive. Even as weather disruptions forced schedule changes, Foot Soldiers Park and its partners ensured the celebration moved forward, underscoring the resilience and determination at the heart of both Juneteenth and Selma’s civil rights legacy.
“This celebration honors Black freedom, culture, and resilience right here in historic Selma. While we celebrate how far we’ve come, we’re reminded that the work for justice and equity continues.”
—Kennedy Smitherman, FSP Events Coordinator
More than a festival, the Juneteenth gathering at the future home of Foot Soldiers Park served as a living classroom on freedom, democracy, and shared responsibility. Through storytelling, artistic performances, and on-the-ground opportunities for civic participation, the event invited community members to reflect on the unfinished work of liberation—from voting rights to economic justice—while celebrating Black culture, creativity, and leadership.
As Foot Soldiers Park continues to grow, this annual Juneteenth tradition is becoming a cornerstone of Selma’s modern movement for historic preservation, civil rights and justice: lifting up the sacrifices of past foot soldiers while investing in the next generation of organizers, voters, and visionaries.
Read more about the event in The Selma Times Journal.
In 2025, Selma stood at a crossroads. Families were navigating deepening poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and reduced access to essentials like SNAP, while new threats to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act put hard-won civil rights protections at risk. At the same time, the spirit of the 1965 foot soldiers continued to guide us toward action, courage, and community power.
At Foot Soldiers Park, we’re on a mission to preserve Selma’s civil rights history, create opportunities for Black residents to heal, learn, and build wealth, and embolden youth to claim and use their power for change. Our 2025 impact report Step by Step, Building Power and Resilience shares how, with the support of donors, partners, and community members, we expanded our work across five key impact areas: Historic Preservation, Civil Rights in Action, Youth Engagement, Building Wealth, and Whole Self Health.
Read Foot Soldiers Park 2025 Impact Report here.
Keeping Selma’s history alive
Historic Preservation sits at the heart of Foot Soldiers Park. In 2025, our Historic Tours of Selma welcomed 4,143 visitors: from federal judges and corporate groups to churches, schools, and nonprofits, visitors learned first-hand accounts of Bloody Sunday and Selma’s role in the fight for voting rights. We continued to collect oral histories from 1965 foot soldiers, building a digital archive that preserves untold stories and strengthens the public record.
We also marked the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday as both a commemoration and a call to action, bringing together thousands of visitors and a new class of Youth Advisory Board members. By connecting past sacrifice to present-day leadership, we are turning Selma’s history into a living, community-driven asset.
Civil rights in action today
Selma is globally recognized as the birthplace of voting rights, yet civic participation remains low and trust in government fragile. In response, we strengthened our Civil Rights in Action work by expanding our Civic Engagement Corps (CEC), Footprints K–12 civic education program, and voter education and registration efforts for adults.
In 2025, our CEC team of Selma residents trained in civic education, history, and organizing, distributed 10,000 voter registration cards, completed 4,290 voter outreach calls, and logged 3,665 hours of canvassing, phone banking, events, and training. Their efforts in the community helped increase voter turnout by 20 percent among our target population.
Investing in the next generation
At Foot Soldiers Park, we believe young people are not just future leaders, they are leaders right now. Through our Youth Engagement impact area, we expanded the National Youth Advisory Board (YAB), where young people led community service, organized public discussions, and supported local schools while building their own leadership skills.
YAB members presented to mayors from around the world, took over the courtroom during Selma’s 2025 Bloody Sunday mock trial, and competed in an oratorical contest that highlighted youth voice and courage. Building on this momentum, we worked to design the Foot Soldiers Park Youth Leaders program, launching in July of 2026, to provide a year-long immersive leadership development experience for high school students that includes civic learning, financial literacy, mentoring, and a capstone project.
We also launched the Jo Ann Bland Civil Rights Legacy Scholarship, awarding two Selma-area students who are descendants of foot soldiers to pursue their education at Auburn University and Tuskegee University. The scholarship honors Ms. Bland’s legacy and her unwavering commitment to youth.
Building wealth and financial freedom
Economic justice is a core part of our vision for Selma. In 2025, we piloted BUILD UP, a K–12 financial education and empowerment program that engaged 111 high school students in just three weeks. Students learned practical skills in banking, budgeting, credit, loans, investing, and understanding the racial wealth gap, and participated in a real-money stock simulation. The program was developed in partnership with Professor Joshua Pierce of the University of Alabama and ensures Selma students receive consistent, high-quality learning opportunities regardless of background or school resources. BUILD UP is part of our broader Building Wealth strategy that also includes the launch of the Community Resource Center, a free online hub connecting residents to resources in financial literacy, workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and homeownership.
Art, culture, and community events
Art and culture are central to how Foot Soldiers Park builds connection and community pride. In 2025, we launched the inaugural Selma Cinema Festival at the historic Walton Theatre, bringing together filmmakers and young people from Selma to Appalachia and beyond. We also hosted the 6th Photographic Nights of Selma, gathering more than 30 photographers from the U.S. and Europe and over 1,000 attendees for evenings of images, music, and dialogue.
Our Still We Rise Juneteenth celebration brought together residents, youth, foot soldiers, elected officials, and partners, and extended to national audiences through a SiriusXM interview and an op-ed by CEO Kimberly Smitherman calling for action beyond remembrance.
Looking ahead and honoring Ms. Bland’s vision
This report is a tribute to our co-founder Jo Ann Bland who passed away in February 2026. Everything in these pages reflects her determination to fight injustice and her bold vision: Selma should be a place where people come to be rejuvenated, to revitalize, and to go in their communities and help change the world. We invite you to read the full 2025 Impact Report and join us in carrying this vision forward.
Thank you to our donors, partners and supporters
Our work and impact is possible because of the community members, partners, donors and funders who stood with us in 2025 and helped us bring Jo Ann Bland’s vision for Selma closer to reality.
The foot soldiers marched, so we could vote. Today is our turn to get informed and participate in the Selma, Alabama election 2026.
The 2026 Primary Election is on May 19, 2026. This year, we have partnered with Alabama Forward to give Selma and Dallas County residents access to information, resources and easy access to learn what’s on the ballot, who’s running, and what each office does.
We’re proud to release the Selma primary election 2026 Voter Guide – a free, nonpartisan resource covering every race on the ballot for Selma and Dallas County.
Why Selma Needs Its Own Primary Election Guide
Selma’s history is inseparable from the fight for voting rights. The foot soldiers who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 weren’t just marching for the right to cast a ballot. They were marching for the role Black people can play in shaping our democracy and the power that comes with representation. That power only works when people vote.
But voting can be overwhelming when you don’t know what you’re voting for. Most election coverage focuses on the big races and leaves local offices—the ones that most directly affect our everyday lives—unexplained. Who is the Dallas County Tax Assessor and why does it matter? What does the Public Service Commission actually do? What’s the difference between the roles of the Sheriff and the Attorney General?
This nonpartisan guide answers those questions. For every position on the ballot, we explain what the office does, who is running and where candidates stand on key issues – so Selma residents can make their own informed decision.
What’s Inside the Guide
The guide includes candidate backgrounds, education, professional experience, and where candidates stand on the issues — pulled from public statements, voting records, and official sources.
The guide also provides voting rights information, how to register, how absentee voting works, what to do in case of problems at the polling location, and how to get more involved in local government year-round.
Important Dates to Remember
- May 4, 2026 — Last day to register to vote
- May 12, 2026 — Last day to request an absentee ballot
- May 14, 2026 — Last day to vote absentee in person
- May 18, 2026 — Deadline to return an absentee ballot by mail
- May 19, 2026 — Primary Election Day
- June 16, 2026 — Primary Runoff Election (if needed)
- November 3, 2026 — General Election
For those who are not sure whether they’re registered or where their polling place is, the digital version of the guide has links to official resources and information.
Need a Ride to the Polls?
Foot Soldiers Park is ready to help. If transportation is a barrier to voting, contact us and we’ll work to connect you with a ride on Election Day. Getting to the polls should never be the reason someone doesn’t vote.
Reach us at frances@footsoldierspark.org or scan the QR code in the printed guide to fill out a ride request form.
Get the Selma Primary Election 2026 Guide
The guide is available digitally and in print.
Printed copies: Contact Foot Soldiers Park at frances@footsoldierspark.org to request printed guides or to find out about distribution in your neighborhood.
The people in this community have fought too hard and sacrificed too much for the right to vote. Every vote matters!
Primary Election Day: May 19, 2026
Joshua Pierce “got chills” watching Selma High School students complete the Build Up pilot. The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business Professor of Finance and Associate Head of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies had partnered with Foot Soldiers Park to develop the program’s curriculum – but even he hadn’t anticipated how transformative it would be.
In late 2025, we launched the pilot for the Build Up program, and 111 students showed up ready to learn. Over three weeks, 9th through 12th graders tackled banking, budgeting, credit, loans, investment basics, and the racial wealth gap. Not theory. Real skills, built for real life.
What made Build Up work was the partnership at its core, a key component of Foot Soldiers Park’s approach to building multigenerational wealth. Professor Pierce brought deep financial expertise and academic rigor to the curriculum, while Director of Programs and Partnerships Carey Fountain brought an intimate understanding of the Selma community – who these students were, what they needed, and how to reach them. Together, they built something neither could have created alone.
That collaboration was tested early. When Professor Pierce introduced the material through traditional slide presentations, the energy in the room was flat. That changed when Director of Programs Carey Fountain suggested a more interactive approach and brought in Monopoly money to spark some friendly competition. The students lit up – and never looked back.
“I would recommend the program [to my classmates] because I feel like they introduced it in a fun way,” said eleventh grader Gavin Perry who won third place in the stock simulation competition.
By the end of the program, the students weren’t just conversant in the basics of banking and saving. They could talk about compound interest, risk and reward metrics, and investment strategy – and put that knowledge into practice, researching stocks, making investment decisions, and competing in a real-money stock simulation that put their new skills to the test.
“The ability to actually see results and see changes with [young people’s] relationships with money is evident, and it’s quicker than I would have thought. I would say there is a return on investment in this program.”
– Professor Pierce
Professor Pierce also put his own money where his mouth is – making a personal donation to Foot Soldiers Park to ensure that the program had enough funding to award cash prizes to the winners of the student stock simulation.
In the coming months, Professor Pierce will work with Director Fountain to refine the model for the Build Up — testing more interactive formats with our youth leadership group, bringing in first-generation University of Alabama finance students to mentor participants, and hosting recurring virtual meetups in which financial professionals share their expertise with participants and alumni — and actively seeking a banking partner to connect students to real financial institutions and resources.
If your organization is interested in partnering with us, please reach out to carey@footsoldierspark.org.