SELMA, Ala. – Brenda Haywood, a former member of Nashville’s Metro Council, was 14 years old in 1965 when civil rights activists were attacked by Alabama police officers and police, attempting to make an effort to invoke voting rights from Selma to the Montgomery state capital.
“I actually saw March and wanted to come. At age 12, I was so inspired by (Rev.) Martin Luther King, John Lewis and Jesse Jackson,” Haywood said.
“All those young men had such a deep legacy and they were very confident in civil rights, so I was always very encouraged and educated (by them),” Haywood said Sunday.
Haywood was one of dozens of Tennessees attending the Selma Bridge across Jubilee to commemorate the 1965 march through the Edmund Petus Bridge, which became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
The three-day event featured nonviolent skills training by Rev. Bernardrafayette, a graduate of American Baptist College in Nashville and organizer of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign, and a meeting at the church that held the Voting Rights event during the 1965 campaign.
Sen. Charlen Oliver, a Democrat in Nashville, spoke as part of a panel discussion on Thursday, hosted by the Brennan Judicial Center in Montgomery. This event now coincides with the Selma March Anniversary.
Joe Calhoun of Memphis was recognized at the end of Sunday’s march at the “Memphis Footsolider Awards.” As a high school student, Calhoun volunteered to work with King during the Memphis Hygiene Worker strike in 1968.
Other lawmakers and elected officials marching in Selma included state lawmakers. It included Rep. Gabby Salinas, a Democrat of Nashville and Democrat of Memphis. Nashville/Davidson County Real Estate Assessor Vivian Wilhoyt, Metro Nashville Councillor Jennifer Gamble and Nashville/Davidson County Conduct Registration Karen Johnson also participated in the event.
“If I have the opportunity to come, it warms my heart,” Haywood said. “I want to carry a torch to encourage people of color in the future.”
Joe Calhoun of Memphis worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King when a Memphis sanitation worker attacked in 1968, who had signs that Memphis sanitation worker said, “I’m a man.” (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
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