leadership
joanne bland
Ms. Joanne Bland is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Foot Soldiers Park. During her lifetime, Ms. Bland has participated in some of our nation’s most consequential civil rights battles. She began her civil rights activism in the early 60s when the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activists organized Bland and other area children and teenagers to participate in the civil rights movement. On the front lines of the struggle, the young Bland marched on "Bloody Sunday" and "Turn Around Tuesday," and on the first leg of the successful March from Selma to Montgomery, witnessing brutal beatings of fellow marchers by police.
The young Ms. Bland was also one of seven Black students to integrate A. G. Parish High School. By the time she was 11 years old, Bland had been arrested 13 times. Ms. Bland’s early involvement in the struggle against “Jim Crow”–American apartheid–has been the foundation for her civil and human rights work throughout her life.
With her compelling personal story of civil rights activism, Ms. Bland is a much sought-after speaker. She has presented at conferences and workshops around the country, including at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and throughout the Northeast, Northwest, Midwest and the South, including in her home state of Alabama.
Mrs. Bland is owner and operator of Journeys For The Soul, a touring agency that specializes in Civil Rights tours with a major focus on Selma, Alabama.
Kimberly smitherman
Kimberly Smitherman is a Founding Partner and the Executive Director of Foot Soldiers Park. In this role she oversees the administration, programs and strategic plan of the organization. Her other key duties include fundraising, marketing, and community outreach.
Kimberly is thoroughly dedicated to the mission of Foot Soldiers Park & Education Center. She is committed to fighting for racial justice and building bridges across racial, social, and economic lines, and promoting the advancement of all people through activism and education.
Kimberly is a proud Selma native. She has worked with several organizations that work to preserve and teach the history of the voting rights movement, with a major focus on Selma. Journeys For The Soul; A civil rights tourism company where she currently serves as the Managing Director and the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute where she held the title of Community Liaison. Kimberly Still resides in Selma with her family where she continues the activism work she has been doing for over a decade, teaching the history of Selma and the voting rights movement.
design team
join us
Are you a member of the faith community, a young activist, an artist or an educator with a deep passion for social justice causes?
We are developing several advisory boards to engage today’s foot soldiers in the work of Foot Soldiers Park: Memorializing our Civil Rights history so that it can be both lesson and inspiration to future generations, helping to advance the wellbeing of the residents of Selma and continuing the fight against racial injustice and voter suppression. Get in touch to learn how you can be part of our movement.