The Forgotten Freedom Summer of 1965: The Voting Rights Movement in Wilcox County,AL

The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail invites you to join us on Monday, June 6, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at the Larry D. Striplin Performing Arts Center at 1000 Selma Ave., Selma, AL 36701.  Nationally known Civil Rights veteran and author Maria Gitin will share stories of her participation, and other activists’ participation in voter registration efforts in rural Wilcox County, Alabama. Following her presentation, she will be available for signing her book “This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight.”  Books will be available for purchase ahead of the event at the Selma Interpretive Center, and at the event.  Only checks and cash will be accepted at the event.

In the months following The Selma Voting Rights Movement, and the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March, African Americans continued to face obstacles in trying to register to vote.  Wilcox County is only one of several counties where African Americans struggled to register to vote. Hundreds of students from around the nation worked with organizations to assist in the effort.  Maria Gitin was one of those students. This program is FREE and open to the public. For more information, contact Park Ranger Theresa Hall at (334) 872-0509 or visit www.nps.gov/semo.