Selma, Alabama

Selma, Alabama
Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain · source
Name	Selma
Settlement type	City
Nickname	Queen City of the Black Belt
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	Alabama
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Dallas
Established title	Founded
Established date	1815
Established title2	Incorporated
Established date2	1820
Government type	Mayor–Council
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	James Perkins Jr.
Unit pref	Imperial
Area total km2	37.30
Area total sq mi	14.40
Area land km2	36.20
Area land sq mi	13.98
Area water km2	1.10
Area water sq mi	0.42
Elevation m	38
Elevation ft	125
Population total	17484
Population as of	2020
Population density km2	auto
Population density sq mi	auto
Timezone	Central
Utc offset	−6
Timezone DST	CDT
Utc offset DST	−5
Coordinates	32, 24, 26, N...
Postal code type	ZIP Code
Postal code	36701–36703
Area code	334
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	01-69120
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	0165340
Website	www.selma-al.gov

Selma, Alabama. Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, located on the banks of the Alabama River in the central part of the state. Founded in 1815, it became a major economic hub in the antebellum era. Selma is globally significant as a pivotal site in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, most notably for the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches which were instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

History

Selma was founded in 1815 by William R. King, who later became the 13th Vice President of the United States. The city's name is derived from the Gaelic word for "high seat" or "throne." Due to its strategic location on the Alabama River, Selma developed into a major transportation and manufacturing center for the Alabama Black Belt. During the American Civil War, it was a crucial Confederate supply depot and site of the Selma Naval Ordnance Works, leading to its capture and partial destruction by Union Army forces under James H. Wilson in the 1865 Battle of Selma. The post-war period saw the city rebuild, but it became entrenched in the Jim Crow system of racial segregation and disfranchisement that defined the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Civil Rights Movement

In the mid-20th century, Selma emerged as a central battleground in the struggle for African-American civil rights. Despite a majority-Black population in Dallas County, systematic voter suppression through mechanisms like literacy tests and poll taxs prevented nearly all Black residents from registering to vote. In early 1963, local activists with the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) invited the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to assist in organizing. The movement gained national prominence in 1965 when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., chose Selma as the focus of a major voting rights campaign. The brutal response by local law enforcement, under Sheriff Jim Clark, to nonviolent protests drew national media attention and galvanized federal action.

Selma to Montgomery marches

The Selma to Montgomery marches were a series of three protest marches in March 1965 that became the climactic event of the Selma voting rights movement. The first march, on March 7—later known as Bloody Sunday—saw some 600 peaceful marchers, led by John Lewis of SNCC and Hosea Williams of SCLC, attacked by Alabama State Troopers and a mounted posse on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The televised violence shocked the nation. The second march, on March 9 (Turnaround Tuesday), was a symbolic procession led by King that turned back at the bridge. That night, Northern white minister James Reeb was fatally beaten by segregationists. The third and final march, protected by a federal court order and 1,900 Alabama National Guardsmen federalized by President Lyndon B. Johnson, began on March 21. Marchers covered 54 miles over five days, arriving at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery on March 25, where King delivered his "How Long, Not Long" speech. The events directly pressured the Johnson administration and Congress, leading to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on August 6.

Edmund Pettus Bridge

The Edmund Pettus Bridge, a steel through arch bridge spanning the Alabama River, is a National Historic Landmark due to its role in the Selma marches. Completed in 1940, it was named for Edmund Pettus, a former Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader who later served as a U.S. Senator. The bridge became an international symbol of the struggle for voting rights following the violence of Bloody Sunday. Today, it serves as the centerpiece of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and is the site of annual commemorative marches. Efforts to rename the bridge, given its namesake's legacy, have been ongoing but unsuccessful.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, census, Selma had a population of 17,484, a decline from previous decades. The city's population is predominantly African American (82.6%), with White American (15.7%) and other groups comprising the remainder. The median household income was $28,345, and the poverty rate was 33.4%, reflecting significant economic challenges. Selma is the principal city of the Selma, AL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Economy

Historically an agricultural and industrial center, Selma's economy has faced challenges with the decline of manufacturing. Key historical industries included the Selma Union Depot and] and the Craig Field airbase. 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