Historic Preservation
Preserving Selma’s history as a catalyst for democracy
Selma, Alabama – known worldwide as “Ground Zero” for the 1965 voting rights marches – exemplifies both the significance and the vulnerability of Black historic sites. For decades there’s been a systematic effort to erase and rewrite Black history. At the core of our work is preserving the stories and lessons from the experiences of our civil rights heroes, elevating their legacy, and creating new opportunities to transform Selma’s historic significance into an engine for liberation and economic development.
For us, Black history preservation is an urgent priority because:
Less than 3% of entries on the US National Register of Historic Places focus on African American Experiences
18 states restrict the teaching of Black history and racism in schools
41% of banned books feature prominent characters who are people of color
Through our tours and historic preservation efforts, we aim to address the deep gaps in how our local and national story is lived and remembered.
Our Vision
Honoring Selma’s heritage: Preserving history to inform the future
We envision a future where Selma’s civil rights heroes are honored and celebrated by everyone who believes in the power of equality and justice.
Through our Historic Preservation impact area, we strive to:
- Elevate and continue Selma’s legacy as the home of the Civil Rights movement and Black history.
- Safeguard the sacred spaces where civil rights history unfolded against neglect and erasure, ensuring Selma’s story remains visible and accessible.
- Serve as a hub for transformative experiences that demonstrate how ordinary people can and have achieved extraordinary things.
- Build bridges between the heroic events of the past and today’s movement for racial justice to shape new narratives and inform policy.
- Build a sustainable model to provide immersive tour experiences that educate and directly contribute to the community’s economic revitalization and growth.
Our approach
Activating history as a democratic force
At Foot Soldiers Park, we are redefining historic preservation. Our approach activates history as a living democratic force that fuels education, economic revitalization and community power through:
- Designing Immersive Experiences: We offer guided tours, commemorative merchandise, cutting-edge digital innovations, and compelling documentary storytelling.
- Gathering and Telling Untold Stories: Our robust content library and materials share the lesser-known stories of Selma’s everyday heroes, integrating them into the broader Civil Rights history.
- Creating Commemorative Events: We host and curate historical commemorations and events around the significance of Bloody Sunday, Juneteenth, and the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
- Building a Living HIstory Collection: Meticulously recording the firsthand accounts of the 1965 foot soldiers, and collaborating with their descendants to preserve their stories
Our programs
Bridging the past with today – bringing Selma’s history to life
Our historic preservation programs are built to welcome people from around the world to immerse themselves in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. By documenting and sharing the invaluable narratives of Selma’s everyday heroes, we can protect them from being lost, and ensure that future generations know their legacy.
Selma Historic Tours
Led by guides with deep roots in Selma’s history – including our founder, Jo Ann Bland – our tours take visitors on a transformative journey through the events leading up to Bloody Sunday in 1965. Participants from around the world immerse themselves in the civil rights movement, gaining a deeper understanding of Selma’s legacy. These tours honor and preserve the city’s historic sites and the stories of those who fought for freedom, inspiring future generations to protect and strengthen democracy.
Tour Guide Training & Certification
To sustain and expand our historic tours, we train local residents and aspiring young professionals to become expert tour guides steeped in Selma’s heritage and proud cultural ambassadors. Trainees complete a structured curriculum covering Selma’s civil rights history, public speaking, interpretive skills and the ethics of telling community stories. Guides are then required to test for a Foot Soldiers Park certification. The program creates local jobs in heritage tourism, builds local capacity to preserve history and aims to nurture home-grown advocates for historic preservation.
Oral History & Digital Archives
To empower future generations with the lessons from the past, we are creating a comprehensive digital archive that preserves Selma’s voices. By conducting oral history interviews with 1965 foot soldiers and longtime Selma residents, we capture firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement and its impact. The library will house recordings, transcripts, and related historic documents, allowing us to develop compelling multimedia storytelling pieces such as short videos or interactive exhibits, designed to make history accessible to a broader national and global audience.
You realize when you [visit Selma and hear from a foot soldier] that our freedom is not a given, and that we have to work for it every single day. The way that we do that is to learn our history.
Katy Cooper, Teacher at Graland Country Day School and Tour Guest
Otherwise history repeats itself… Everybody needs to come here and experience this.
Let’s march together towards a better future
Invest in Foot Soldiers Park as we preserve history, transform Selma as a tourist destination and seed the next generation of civil rights leaders.
The impact of our historic tours
The fact that Jo Ann was a child activist is not lost on any of us. Seeing this movement through her eyes opens a window for all of us that is authentic with a rare view of what it was like to live there, through the most turbulent struggle for human and civil rights of the 20th Century.
Dr. Martha Bouyer, Creator of NEH’s field study for educators “Stony the Road We Trod”
Ms. Bland has been providing tours for my students from Wisconsin for over ten years. Ms. Bland helps each student connect personally with the history of Selma while also committing to an active life of positive social change.
Jodi Thesing-Ritter, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
For over 15 years, I have been bringing over 1,000 people a year to Selma to be impacted by Jo Ann Bland. She brings those turbulent times to life and her story cuts right to the heart of the listener and makes them understand the struggle these brave Americans endured for freedom.
Bill Planer, Etgar 36 Civil Rights Journey
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