Posted on May 4, 2022
A church at the heart of Selma's 1965 voting rights march is an endangered place
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https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/ [login to see] /selma-ame-church-endangered-historic-places
Like religious congregants all over, the people of historic Brown Chapel AME Church turned off the lights and locked the doors at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic because it wasn't safe to gather for worship with a deadly virus circulating. For a time, the landmark church that launched a national voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, was off limits.
What members found when they returned was heartbreaking: Termites had eaten so much wood that parts of the structure weren't stable anymore, said member Juanda Maxwell, and water leaks damaged walls. Mold was growing in parts of the building, where hundreds met before Alabama state troopers attacked voting rights demonstrators on Bloody Sunday in 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
"It's in horrible shape," said Maxwell. "It's a tough time. Because we were closed for a year it exacerbated the problem with water coming in."
Like religious congregants all over, the people of historic Brown Chapel AME Church turned off the lights and locked the doors at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic because it wasn't safe to gather for worship with a deadly virus circulating. For a time, the landmark church that launched a national voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, was off limits.
What members found when they returned was heartbreaking: Termites had eaten so much wood that parts of the structure weren't stable anymore, said member Juanda Maxwell, and water leaks damaged walls. Mold was growing in parts of the building, where hundreds met before Alabama state troopers attacked voting rights demonstrators on Bloody Sunday in 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
"It's in horrible shape," said Maxwell. "It's a tough time. Because we were closed for a year it exacerbated the problem with water coming in."
A church at the heart of Selma's 1965 voting rights march is an endangered place
Posted from npr.org
Racism
Rights
Voting
American History
Religion
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The National Park Service already has provided a grant of $1.3 million for restoration of the church, which was constructed in 1908 by a formerly enslaved Black builder, A.J. Farley, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
"Our goal is to try to receive over $3 million in grants to do the foundational work. After that we hope to get in more private donations," Maxwell said.
With members unable to gather in the building since repair work began in October, Maxwell said, the few who still attend continue meeting online.
"We're Zooming. The pastor is searching for a place," she said."
..."The National Park Service already has provided a grant of $1.3 million for restoration of the church, which was constructed in 1908 by a formerly enslaved Black builder, A.J. Farley, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
"Our goal is to try to receive over $3 million in grants to do the foundational work. After that we hope to get in more private donations," Maxwell said.
With members unable to gather in the building since repair work began in October, Maxwell said, the few who still attend continue meeting online.
"We're Zooming. The pastor is searching for a place," she said."
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I hate articles that tell of a problem yet fail to point people in a positive direction -
https://www.brownchapelamechurchfoundation.org/historical-significance
https://www.brownchapelamechurchfoundation.org/historical-significance
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