News & Updates
Critical Demographics About Selma, Alabama
- Population: 20,756 (2020)
- Median Age: 32.2
- Racial Makeup: 57.9% African American, 37.4% White, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races
- Median Household Income: $29,931
- Poverty Rate: 28.0%
- High School Graduation Rate: 73.7%
- Bachelor’s Degree or Higher: 17.2%
When was Edmund Pettus Bridge named?
The bridge was named after Pettus, a Confederate general and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader in 1940. However, 25 years later it became an enduring symbol of the civil rights movement after marchers were beaten by law enforcement officers on the bridge in 1965.
Who led the Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama?
The march was led by John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Reverend Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and found themselves facing a line of state and county officers poised to attack. In all, 26 people were shot by the troopers; thirteen died on the day and another died of his injuries four months later.