It is not unusual for the state to have one or two sites listed on the annual "11 most endangered" list from the National Trust for Historic Preservation...and this year is no exception:
In March 1965, as thousands of Civil Rights demonstrators marched from Selma to Montgomery to campaign for full voting rights, three African American farm owners along the 54-mile route courageously offered their properties as overnight camp sites for the marchers, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, and Congressman John Lewis. These families are among those who Dr. King called the “ordinary people with extraordinary vision” as they risked their lives in support of the Civil Rights movement.
Today, several of these sites—the David Hall Farm and Robert Gardner Farm—are still proudly owned by the same families and are situated along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, but their incredible stories remain largely untold. Many of the farm properties now need stabilization, repair, and interpretation to expand the narrative of this significant landscape in Civil Rights history and share the stories of these families, whose tremendous bravery helped to change American history.
There are three interpretive sites along the path of the march...including a now open for limited days center on the ASU campus.
Why not add some recognition at the camp sites on the list?
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