Selma, AL

Today, hearing the stories of Ms. Lynda Blackmon Lowery and Ms. Joanne Bland put a lot into perspective for me. I was shocked by the horrors Lynda had encountered as the youngest individual to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. She shared her story about how she was tear gassed, beaten, and dehumanized during her march; however, what shocked me the most was that even after all of that she still went back and marched. The amount of dedication and patience she had as a fifteen-year-old astonishes me. I can’t even begin to imagine going through something so traumatic and having the willpower to keep fighting for what you believe in. It really put things into to perspective because it didn’t matter if you were elderly, a child, or an adult because if you were colored you were automatically treated less than human. It really broke my heart to hear what she had to overcome as a child due to such bigoted mindsets in this country. We also had the opportunity walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge today. Walking across that bridge today truly allowed me to vicariously feel the emotions, desires, and determination of those who marched during the movement. It was truly inspiring and transformative to not only hear accounts of those in the movement, but to also march across the same bridge those in the exact same spot as those in the movement.

Hannah Kuruvilla

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