Selma, Me & Jimmie Lee Jackson
Just this past weekend, a friend discovered a photo from Selma in 1965, where I’m in the frame. Here it is — the same one posted yesterday, but with more of the image. In the front row are John Lewis and Andrew Young; Lewis is talking about the plans to march from Selma to Montgomery, to demand justice for Jimmie Lee Jackson, and voting rights for people of color in Alabama.
That’s me at the right, looking over Andy Young’s shoulder.
If my acquaintances and Facebook friends don’t recognize me without a beard (admittedly it’s been awhile since I was clean-shaven; since 1971, as I recall), here’s my mugshot from a few weeks earlier for backup:
I’d been in jail for ten days earlier that month, and in that time the movement had been heating up. There were plans to extend its reach to the town of Marion, in the next county over from Selma, with a rally and a night march two days hence — March 18th.
That march would become a turning point in the Selma movement drama. More on that soon. Or you can get the details from my book, Selma 1965, right here.
