On Saturday 2/29 when six sorority sisters and my husband prayed together before heading to Selma, I felt excited about what we would experience. Sunday, March first, we entered Selma high school gym where over a thousand sorority sisters and others from the Devine 9 gathered for morning worship. Our national Chaplin, sorority sister Vashti McKinzie, as always delivered an uplifting, make you want to shout message.

When we arrived downtown, there were thousands more people. It was tight, but people were speaking, smiling, helpful, peaceful as if we all knew one another. There were many dignitaries, and most of the Democratic nominees passed through the crowd receiving cheers and handshakes. But the highlight was the appearance of Representative John Lewis. Although we were not close enough to hear all his speech. I did hear him say “we must go out and vote like we have never voted before”. In March of 1965, I did not experience Bloody Sunday, but 55 years later I will always remember March 1st, 2020 was truly a Blessed Sunday experience for me.  

—Sorority Sister Gwenda Motley

Karen Wallace:

“We must never let anybody turn us around. We need to stay focused and keep our eyes on the prize.”

Bonnie Lynch:

“Before the march, we visited the Legacy Museum. The Legacy Museum depicts the journey of the black man in America. My heart was heavy, then I thought. I live because they endured. I have to keep on keeping on.”

 Others in attendance:

Alvia Littleton

Gwenda Motley

Tishauna Douglas

Karen Wallace

Two members of the Louisville League, Patty and Peggy Kannapel, traveled to Selma to attend the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee 2020.  We were accompanied by our spouses, John Grossman and Greg Byrne, and were joined by a third sister, Ruthie Wheatley, who lives in Enterprise AL. We participated in several events and workshops that were part of the Jubilee, culminating in the re-enactment march from Brown Chapel A.M.E. to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A highlight of the trip was meeting and talking with the sons and grandsons of two Selma civil rights leaders—Rev. Frederick Reese and J. L. Chestnut, Jr.—who fought to win voting rights for African-Americans and were among the marchers on Bloody Sunday.