Preserving 60 years of ‘Bloody Sunday’ history

As the city of Selma, Alabama, commemorates the 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” one Auburn University faculty member is helping share the history of that fateful day through several projects. 

“Bloody Sunday,” which occurred on March 7, 1965, was a pivotal moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. During a peaceful march in Selma, Alabama, demonstrators were brutally attacked by state troopers, drawing national attention to the struggle for equal voting rights for African Americans. This event galvanized public support and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, landmark legislation that aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting. 

Robert Finkel, associate professor and program chair in Auburn’s School of Industrial and Graphic Design, has designed a website, an exhibit and a book to help educate audiences on this pivotal moment in history. 

The website  

With support from an Alabama Humanities Alliance Media Grant, Finkel has developed the Selma Bloody Sunday History website, which includes a virtual tour of the conflict site, archival photos and interpretive content that allows users to see which marchers have been identified by name and which have not. Website visitors can experience the events of Bloody Sunday, from the assembly of marchers that morning at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to the march through downtown Selma, the conflict with Alabama State Troopers after crossing the bridge, the forced chase back to their homes and churches and, ultimately, the spread of news coverage throughout the nation. 

“If you are not able to visit Selma, you can get a sense of the place through the website,” Finkel said. “I hope that showing the current conditions of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and conflict site will inspire more people to learn this history and seek to preserve and protect it.”  

The exhibit 

Finkel’s first foray into research on Bloody Sunday came when he was approached by colleagues in building science, history and architecture who were documenting the areas around the Edmund Pettus Bridge using historical photos and video footage, photogrammetry software, laser scanners and drones. 

Having collected a great deal of data they wanted to share with the public, the team members knew they needed to establish a comprehensive visual communication strategy, so they asked Finkel to join their team. His partnership with them has been fruitful. 

“Collectively, we refer to our work as ‘Information and emotion … visual communication for social histories,’” Finkel said. “The outputs are exhibits, digital humanities projects, books and other types of engaged experiences. The collaboration between graphic design, history and preservation has been very natural and complementary.” 

Finkel designed the Selma Bloody Sunday Foot Soldiers Traveling Exhibit, which is on display at Selma University, a small HBCU in Selma. The exhibit connects the public with the Auburn team’s existing research and solicits information to help identify the 600 marchers, more than 400 of whom have yet to be named.  

The book 

In addition to the exhibit and website, Finkel designed a book titled “Selma is now: The march for justice continues” that commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches as shown through the lens of photographer Spider Martin. Martin was a photojournalist for The Birmingham News who is best known for his powerful photos of Bloody Sunday. His iconic images helped to bring national attention to the movement, and Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledged that the images helped inspire lawmakers to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  

Martin was there for the initial Feb. 18 murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion, Alabama, the attempted Selma-to-Montgomery marches on March 7 and 9 and the final march that began on March 21 and made it all the way to Montgomery five days later. 

“Simply put, he never left,” Finkel said. “He recognized the injustices that were taking place and had the courage to use his talents as a photographer to document those events and to show the world what was going on. He referred to his work as ‘art history,’ and his images are not only the evidence of a historically significant event, but they are captured in such an artistic way that they transcend mere documentation.” 

The book contains more than 60 images taken during the marches as well as first-person handwritten notes and memories from Martin. It also features essays and reflections from Martin’s daughter, Tracy, American history expert Don Carelton and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, among others. Published by the University of Texas Press, the book is written by Doug McCraw and Tracy Martin and designed by Finkel and Tyler Jones of Alabama-based narrative studio 1504. 

The annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee is March 6-9, and more than 40 events will be held to mark 60 years since Bloody Sunday. Finkel is glad to be in a position as a designer and educator to preserve this story and ensure younger generations understand the impact it had on our nation. 

“It’s a trite expression, but if we don’t learn about the past, we are doomed to repeat it,” he said. “The freedoms these foot soldiers marched for 60 years ago shouldn’t be taken for granted. I think this history is important in that it shows how everyday people have the power to organize and make a change.”