A Reflection of Pilgrimage's Past

Selma Pilgrimage Reflection

Rhonda Robinson

Visiting Selma, Alabama, as part of a pilgrimage was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had. Walking the grounds where so much of the Civil Rights Movement unfolded and standing in the places where Martin Luther King Jr. once stood made history feel real and personal.

We walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” attack took place, and listened to people share their stories. They spoke about standing up against the white people who fought to prevent their families and communities from exercising their right to vote, including acts of violence such as being chased and run down on horseback

We saw, we listened, and we felt—yet we experienced only a small portion of the fear and courage that those who lived through that time endured. That experience is one of the reasons I continue this work with AGC. The more I learn about the history and experiences of our Black brothers and sisters, the more I realize that I cannot turn back.

I have to keep learning. I have to keep listening. I have to share what I learn, seek to understand, and stand up for those who have not had the same privilege I have had. History is not simply something we read about—it is something we must acknowledge, learn from, and carry forward so that we can help create a more just and inclusive future.

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