A Work in Progress: Selma Memorial

Selma Memorial

Watch video of Selma Memorial Dedication Ceremony, (click here for video instructions)

View the Selma Memorial Photo Album

View the Memorial inscriptions

On Feb. 1, 2002, nearly 125 people gathered in Eliot Hall at Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters in Boston to dedicate the Selma Memorial, a sculptured memorial to three individuals who paid the ultimate price for their devotion to the cause of equal rights for all Americans. Though not all three were Unitarian Universalists, all three were united in their dedication to achieving equality for all Americans regardless of race.

The images of Jimmy Lee Jackson, the Rev. James Reeb, and Viola Liuzzo were cast in bronze, and a three-panel bas-relief in their memory was mounted in Eliot Hall as a continuing reminder of their sacrifice. The Selma Memorial was the brainchild of former UUA president John A. Buehrens, who attended the dedication.

The ceremony was presided over by the Rev. William G. Sinkford, current UUA President, and Kay Montgomery, UUA Executive Vice President. In attendance were Ann and Shirley Robinson, cousins of Jimmy Lee Jackson; Orloff Miller and Clark Olsen, who were with James Reeb when he was attacked in Selma; and Richard Leonard, author of the new Skinner House Book, "Call to Selma," a personal account of Leonard's experience on the 18-day Selma to Montgomery freedom march.

Unitarian Universalist Association
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