Remembering Selma, 1965

On March 10, 61 years later, I am celebrating a time in history when many people — clergy, ministers, rabbis, nuns and an array of local citizens — came together to march and protest the fact that people of color were not permitted to vote. It was a gray day in Selma as we gathered in the African Methodist Episcopal church where Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young and other civil rights organizers were gathered. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was absent that day as he was sitting by the bedside of the dying minister who was beaten the day before on Bloody Sunday.

As we prepared for the march outside, I saw the faces of the Selma residents pressed against the windowpanes, looking sorrowfully and hopelessly at us. I see those faces today and have almost every day since then, keeping the fire of faith and hope in my heart for those who walk the path to Calvary. I yearn to walk with them, holding on to each other, knowing that we are accompanied by the loving grace of the Christ within each of us.

Editor’s note: Therese Stawowy (formerly Sister Ann Christopher) was part of the first group of six nuns who traveled to Selma, Ala., to stand in solidarity with the Civil Rights Movement, a pivotal moment in her life of service. Just months prior to the historic march, as a sociology professor at Webster College, she initiated an “experimental community” of sisters and students in a low-income area of St. Louis. This project aimed to bridge gaps between communities and foster understanding in a time of racial and social upheaval. For the 60th anniversary of the Selma march, she recorded her recollections. Watch the film “Selma: Bearing Witness for Change” here.