SELMAPOSTHERALD.COM

A SNAPSHOT OF SELMA'S PAST & PRESENT

CIVIL WAR TO CIVIL RIGHTS AND MORE!

Based in historic Selma. Alabama's third oldest City and the

birthplace of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Published by R.W. & Associates

Editor/Photographer -Randolph "Randy" Williams
East Coast Entertainment Editor - William Caldwell' Sneed
West Coast Entertainment Editor - Jacquie Taliafero
Photographers - Randolph Randy Williams, Steve Cameron,
William Caldwell' Sneed

phone:334-526-2488

email:randy@selmapostherald.com
Reenactment of  "Battle of Selma" (1865)
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Commemoration of "Bloody Sunday" (1965)
203 Highland Ave. Selma, AL
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BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH CELEBRATES FOUNDERS DAY
Sunday February 19, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church celebrated its founding in 1867 with the regular order of service which featured a
special dramatic presentation by Brown Chapel’s youth and a sermon by Lamar Higgins of Montgomery’s St. Paul A.M.E. Church in
which he challenged the church to reach back and help those who have fallen.  He started by telling the congregation that he was a
“country boy” from Autauga County and the last of 9 children and their community  had to go to either an A.M.E. Church on second
and fourth Sunday or the Baptist church  on 1st and third. In his house they had to go both every Sunday starting with Sunday
school.  He related an incident that happened to him as a child one Sunday after church while his mother was cooking he went
outside in his Sunday’s church clothes and played and got all wet and muddy. When his mother called him in to eat and saw his
clothes he thought he was going to be punished but instead his mother looked at him and smiled with compassion and love and it
reminded him  “That’s what  Jesus has done for us”. “I know somebody came to Brown Chapel today because God has been good to
you. Somewhere doing the week you got in your own mud puddle. In spite of all of that God has smiled on us.  His sermon was based
on Luke 2nd chapter beginning with the  41st verse. But before he got into that he talked about his coming to Selma from
Montgomery that morning.  He was almost on empty and stopped at a gas station near the airport put his card in the outside pump
and it wouldn’t work so he went inside and after a frustrating moment or two was finally able to get it to work. In his hurry not to be
late he drove off and forgot to pump the gas but he didn’t realize it until he had gone a little ways and seen the Rock Creek Baptist
Church which reminded him he had forgotten something which made him look down and notice the gas needle.  “Even with your best
intentions you leave something behind” “Sometimes you have to go back and get you left behind . “When  I thought about  this
scripture and thought about coming to Brown Chapel to talk about Founders Day I thought about what we have left behind.  We’ve
come a long way as African Methodist, as African Americans, as young men and young women. But we’ve still got some problems
that need to be addressed. And I just came by to tell Brown Chapel today that we don’t have a problem we just got to go back  and
get what we left behind.” He went on to give a brief history of the A.M.E. Church founded by Richard Allen whom he said had the
attitude that “God can take care of you “. He talked about how after organizing the A.M.E. Church riots broke out in Ohio and instead
of going to the government the A.M. E. Church advocated  “We can use what we got to get those folks what they need  get them to
understand that its alright to be free. We can give them a pathway to freedom, we can show them how to work and make a days
wage  “  He compared  Rosa Parks (an A.M.E.) and the Montgomery  Bus Boycott ‘s problem’s , “ even  in the year 2012 when there’
s a  black man in the White House we still have some problems Brown Chapel. We’ve still  got to go back and look behind us and see
what we have left behind.” “We got to many people who are concerned about me, my life, what I can do. Rather or not I can get a
Loan to get a new car, rather I can get a mortgage to get a bigger house, whether I can send my kids to private school” . “We live in
a world of I’, I phones, ipads IPods, personal computers, I want this ,I’ve got to have that. “My mother and father taught me that I
needed People to be a better person and they taught me that I needed to help people because one day, one day, I just might need
help myself. They taught me to love people and use things  and not use people to get the things I love . Failures taught me that in
order to succeed  I can not do it by myself  Yes I’ve had all the things that I talked about. But I’ve got there by hard work  and most
importantly by other people helping me, believing in me , trusting me, forgiving me, teaching me and loving me. Life has taught me
that it’s not what you have it’s what you do with what you have.”  It’s not your location it’s your destination. “I promise you that if we go
back and get what we forgot if we remember that together we can make this thing work.  He concluded talking about the Geese that
fly in a V formation and that one the lead goose gets tired or injured another goose moves right in and takes over while the goose
goes to the back and rests.  If injured and the lead goose goes down two other geese go down with it until its healed and they will
return to any flock flying by. They don’t ask if their black, don’t ask if their white  don’t ask if their Republican, don’t ask if their
Democrat, they know they have a destination. So don’t give up if your not where you want to be on the job, don’t give up because
you got somebody in your family on drugs. It’s not your location it’s your destination Pastor Rev. Tony Scott  summarized his
interpretation of the sermon, “The message was for  the Body of Christ. Who have you helped? What people have you really
reached back to tell somebody  about Jesus. Sometimes people don’t want your money, they don’t want your hand me down clothes,
and they don’t want your weak words of encouragement. Sometimes what they would like to know is how you got that smile on your
face. How did you get to where you are? That in the midst of your storms you are able to smile. They want to know about this Jesus
that Mary and Joseph left behind, it took them a day to realize he wasn’t there but they went back to get him. Have you went back to
get your niece? Have you went back to get your nephew? Have you went back to get your brother? Have you went back to get your
friend? Have you went back anywhere Brown Chapel? This message is not to make you feel good it ought to convict your heart, you
ought to be sad because the truth of the matter is if we were put on trial for how many people have went back we all would be found
guilty of stuffing our own pockets and taking care of our own needs and not going back for anybody. If you are not the person you
ought to be now is the time to change.”
TRAILWAYS RETURNS TO SELMA
Sunday March 4, 2012 before the commemoration of Bloody Sunday
Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church was host to a delegation with Faith and
Politics attending the regular Sunday morning worship services that
featured musical selections by the Boys Choir of Tallahassee and a
sermon by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Lisa P. Jackson who is also an A.M.E.  After greetings from
Congresswoman Teri Sewell, Mayor George Evans and Jesse Jackson
Congressman John Lewis introduced Mrs. Jackson. She used the first
chapter of the book of Joshua as her scriptural reference and reflected
on when President Barack O’Bama was in the same pulpit in 2007
before he became President and referred to this generation as the
“Joshua Generation” After quoting a few passages she expressed her
gratitude to the Lord “Today I am grateful beyond words to be in such a
sanctified, holy and historic place.”  She spoke about how her
generation is mindful of the sacrifices of the generation before did and
how they take seriously the responsibility of carrying the torch from that
generation and living up to their standards.  She went on to talk about
“walks”. “It’s a beautiful day for walking and I want to reflect on some of
the places I’ve walked”. Jackson said she was three years old when
people gathered in Selma standing for her rights, “As they were
standing across the bridge I was just learning to walk” She said she was
just a few months old when James Meredith tried to gain admittance to
the University of Mississippi and one year old when the black students
were admitted to the University of Alabama. She said growing up in
Louisiana her parents watched the events unfold on television and in
the news and knew the foundation was being laid for her to be able to
go to college, She said she couldn’t remember watching the I Have A
Dream speech but feels like she can because her mother still talks
about it like it was yesterday and  how the whole neighborhood  
watched it and talked about it at each others homes and as she got
older her and her brother would watch the speech every August 28, the
anniversary of the march on Washington. She remembered her first
day at school and thought it was “cool” that police officers were there to
escort her not realizing that desegregation was taking place. “I was too
young, too naïve and too blessed to realize they were there because of
the threat of violence.” Jackson said she was six years old when Dr.
King was assassinated and could not remember her parents being
more shocked and frightened.  As an adult Mrs. Jackson says she
reflects on the sacrifices people made in order for her to be able to
attend a university and get a good job.  She said one of her earliest
dreams was to work for the post office because her father was a
mailman and he was one of the first examples she saw of what it meant
to be a public servant. “So his steps, my dad’s footsteps were some of
the first I ever wanted to walk in”. She said that now she sits in the office
of the Postmaster General of the United States in Washington to which
she received a long applause, “Every time I pass the seal of the U.S.
Postal Service I think about my dad and what he taught me about
service”. Her father died several years ago and she wondered what he
would think of her being in her position and that the path that got here
there is the one he started her on. After going through a list of black
heroes and sheroes and events she spoke admiringly of her mother
who is still alive and she recounted how she and all of those mothers
endured segregation and how her mother sat in a wheel chair and
watched Catholic Ministries remove everything from her house after
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. She started her conclusion by saying
“It is because of these things that I have the extraordinary honor to
serve as the first African American Administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and to work for the first African
American President of these United States, to which the audience gave
another long applause.  “My role in this Joshua Generation to  make
sure that when we reach the Promised Land that its not going to be a
place where pollution weighs heavily on our children’s health or our
posterity’s. After her speech the service ended with   brown Chapel’s
Pastor Rev. Tony Scott inviting people to accept Christ and he asked
Rev. Al Sharpton to help lead We Shall Overcome.
EPA ADMINISTRATOR LISA P. JACKSON
Sunday March 4, 2012 thousands
marched across the Edmund Pettus
Bridge to commemorate Bloody
Sunday (the first attempt of the
Selma to Montgomery March in 1965
that resulted in the beating and tear
gasing of unarmed protesters) to
include the wife of Robert Kennedy,
Ethel Kennedy and approximately
thirty Kennedy family members  and
Congressman John Lewis along with
a Congressional delegation with
Faith and Politics and a host of other
dignitaries and people from all over
the world.
l to r Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin L. King, III, U.S. Senator Steny Hoyer.
Rev. H.K. Matthews, Dick Gregory
BROTHER LAMAR HIGGINS
BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH
Selma Mayor George Evans greets Trailways at 5:10 am for their
return to Selma via Mobile, AL
RECORDED 2011
Aardman, Sony Pictures Animation, MJ93 Fund and the Historic
Selma Walton Theater Roll Out the Red Carpet for Area Kids WITH
PREVIEW OF “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” STORY UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
CINCINNATI BENGAL
MICHAEL JOHNSON
HOSTS 3RD ANNUAL CAMP
EPA HEAD SPEAKS AT
BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E.