Back to School, Back to History: Youth Connect 1965 to Today

Foot Soldiers Park kicked off the school year in August during Selma’s City Wide Back-to-School Bash at the Riverfront Amphitheater and Park with school supplies and conversation. The event is in its second year and organized by fourth-grade teacher Shereva Purifoy, Selma City Schools, the City of Selma, the Robertson Foundation, and Dallas County Schools – with the goal of providing local students free classroom essentials, hygiene products, and brand new clothes to start their school year off right. 

Foot Soldiers Park donated 100 backpacks with basic school supplies. We passed out swag and registered eligible high school students to vote.  The highlight was our second annual youth panel discussion hosted by our youth engagement groups Youth Leaders and Youth Advisory Board.  The conversation focused on Selma’s civil rights history, today’s voting-rights challenges, and the responsibility young people have to remain informed and involved. 

The panel reflected on Jimmie Lee Jackson, the young civil rights activist whose murder in 1965 led to Bloody Sunday, the sacrifices made by Jackson and so many others to secure the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and why this history must be shared with first-time and future voters. The young people also discussed fair representation, the effect government decisions can have on schools and communities, and the importance of young people having a voice when decisions are being made about their futures.

We were proud to see our youth connect history to the present, speak confidently about issues affecting their generation, and recognize the value of young people learning alongside community elders. 

Their words reminded us that Selma’s legacy is not something we simply remember—it is something every generation must understand, protect, and carry forward.