Standard Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Have a travel question? Then ask Peter. E-mail him at peter@petergreenberg.com, or tweet your questions to @petersgreenberg (include #AskPeter).

James Perkins, Jr., Mayor of Selma, puts the town into perspective geographically and historically – and the history goes back over 200 years. He describes the significance of the location during the Civil War, the loss of rights in the hundred years that followed and the second ground-zero experience that changed the paradigm and began here. Mayor Perkins reminisces on the historic march and the traumatic experience it was and dives into the politics of the South. There was a large Jewish community in Selma in the 1960s and its establishments were some of the places that Black people could enter. The Mayor expands on that and looks forward to the emerging business community that is revitalizing Selma once more. He also discusses why telling the region’s authentic story is important for preserving history and argues why Selma is 20 years ahead of the nation.

Reverend Cromwell A. Handy, Pastor at The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, speaks to the important role that this church played in the Civil Rights Movement including being the place where leaders of the movement decided to go forward with the Montgomery Bus Boycott and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached from 1954 to 1960. Reverend Handy then spoke about his experience moving from a segregated school to an integrated school in the seventh grade, and he shares his first experience with a white person in which a boy shared a pen with him when he did not have one. He also noted that not all of his interactions with white people were that pleasant, and that looking back, he could feel that not everyone was in favor of integration. This is something he says he can still feel today. He adds that while the country has come a long way in the fight for equality, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Joanne Bland, Civil Rights Activist & Owner + Operator of Journeys for the Soul, speaks about her life growing up in Selma during the Civil Rights Movement and how her involvement in it led to 13 arrests before she turned the age of 12. She talks about being on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday and the violence she witnessed firsthand that day before later joining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the bridge, a few days later during Turnaround Tuesday, and eventually crossing the bridge completely. As the owner of Journeys for the Soul, she now focuses on educating young people about the Civil Rights Movement and the history of Selma as they take over the fight for equality.

Gabriel Sharpe, Fire Chief at the Selma Fire Department, speaks to his 23 years with the department and describes how the job has become more challenging – things just don’t burn the same way they used to. He describes the people and culture and even gives us some insights into his favorite places to eat. He then proceeds to give the audience a mouth-watering explanation. Chief Sharpe reveals his go-to spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the one thing he’d recommend visitors try in Alabama.

Doris Crenshaw, Civil Rights Movement Icon and Rosa Parks protégé, speaks about her relationship with Parks, who was known as the “quiet star,” and her role in encouraging people to participate in the Montgomery Bus Boycott by handing out leaflets at the age of 12. Following the boycott, she became very involved with registering people to vote and remains involved today. She also met with President Jimmy Carter and subsequently joined his campaign staff. She encourages today’s young people to remember the importance of courage and discipline and to be thorough in planning rather than jumping into a movement based on emotions without proper planning.

Loyd Howard, Montgomery Businessman & Owner of Howard Barber Shop, speaks about attending his first mass meeting for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and passing out information sheets at the age of 14. He recalls how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of non-violence was new to the people of Selma and how they eventually accepted it. He also speaks about how the arrest of Rosa Parks served as a turning point and showed many people that the boycott may have a chance of working. Howard has a special connection to the Parks as Rosa Parks’ husband, Raymond Parks, worked in his family’s barber shop — which he still owns and runs today.

Joyce Nadine O’Neal, Historian and Coordinator for the Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Consortium, tells the story of her involvement during the historic Selma march and the mass meetings designed to cultivate unity. It was up to the students to protest — they were the primary marchers — for their parents’ right to vote because parents had been threatened with being let go if they went to the march. O’Neal tells the touching story of the struggles during the march and how she knew she made a difference when her mother registered to vote.