The Selma Times Journal | NewsBreak (2024)

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Early Years

Dallas County came into existence in 1818, while the city of Selma was established two years later in 1820 by a group headed by later U.S. Vice President William Rufus King. While the county was named for Alexander J. Dallas, a Scottish immigrant lawyer, the city drew its name from Ossian's poems.

The city is best known for the 1960s Selma Voting Rights Movement and the Selma to Montgomery marches, beginning with “Bloody Sunday” in March 1965 and ending with 25,000 people entering Montgomery at the end of the last march to press for voting rights.

What's happening in Selma and Dallas County? Tell us and we'll share it with the community! Send us photos, story ideas, news tips, community event notices, announcements and more Publisher Cindy Fisher at publisher@selmasun.com or call 205-789-0973.

Fifty years ago, on March 7, 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery. They marched to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote — even in the face of a segregationist system that wanted to make it impossible.

About 80% of the population is African-American. Selma was a trading center and market town during the antebellum years of King Cotton in the South. It was also an important armaments-manufacturing and iron shipbuilding center for the Confederacy during the Civil War, surrounded by miles of earthen fortifications.

In 2022, there were 2.54 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents (26.3k people) in Selma, AL than any other race or ethnicity. There were 10.4k White (Non-Hispanic) and 761 Two+ (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Selma is a very historical environment with a diverse community. It can be unsafe after dark because of the crime rate is one of the highest in Alabama.

Today marks the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a march held in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 for the 600 people attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was there that law enforcement officers beat unarmed marchers with billy clubs and sprayed them with tear gas.

Why is it called the Black Belt of Alabama? ›

The Black Belt is a region named for its dark, nutrient-rich soil, and in Alabama is stretches across the south-central portion of the state. The fertile soil made the Black Belt a center for cotton production using enslaved people prior to the Civil War.

Selma Blair's multiple sclerosis is still in remission, but she does have day-to-day struggles as a result of her condition. In an Instagram video update posted Jan. 30, the "Cruel Intentions" star shared that she "(hurts) all the time."

Hundreds of Black residents were arrested, beaten, or threatened in Selma during the first half of 1963. On the morning of October 7th, on what SNCC and DCVL called “Freedom Day,” 350 Black residents of Selma bravely lined up at the county courthouse—risking their livelihoods—and attempted to register to vote.

Four lives were lost: Jimmie Lee Jackson, rev. James Reeb, Viola Liuzzo, and Jonathan Daniels.