Historic city renowned for its pivotal role in the American civil rights movement, featuring landmarks, museums, and cultural sites that commemorate the struggle for voting rights and equality.
General Information
Selma Welcome Center: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Closed major holidays; hours vary by site
How to Get There
From Montgomery, AL (50 mi): Take US-80 W directly to Selma. The route passes through Lowndes County and leads into downtown Selma near the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Overview
The city of Selma is one of the most iconic locations in American civil rights history. Situated along the Alabama River, Selma gained national attention in 1965 during the Selma to Montgomery marches, particularly the events of “Bloody Sunday” on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. These peaceful protests, led by figures like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., were instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, Selma honors this legacy through a network of museums, monuments, and interpretive centers that tell the story of the struggle for justice and equality.
Visitors can explore landmarks such as the National Voting Rights Museum, Brown Chapel AME Church, and the Selma Interpretive Center. The city also features the largest contiguous historic district in Alabama, offering a rich blend of antebellum architecture and cultural heritage. Whether walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge or attending one of the city’s commemorative events, a visit to Selma is a powerful journey through the heart of America’s civil rights movement.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles and official tourism pages for the Selma Tour Guide, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
Featured Locations
Dough4872, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Iconic steel-arched bridge symbolizing the struggle for civil rights and the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.
