[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 115 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5672-H5673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BROWN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH 145TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SEWELL. I rise today to recognize the 145th anniversary of Brown 
Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Selma, Alabama. For 145 
years, Brown Chapel has been a pillar in the Selma community, and she 
stands today as a powerful symbol of the civil rights movement for the 
major role that this church played in the events that led to the 
adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  One hundred forty-five years ago, just 2 years after the Emancipation 
Proclamation, freed slaves began worshipping, first in private homes, 
and

[[Page H5673]]

eventually in the basement of the Hotel Albert in Selma, Alabama. One 
hundred forty-five years ago, on August 31, 1867, an African Methodist 
Episcopal missionary, Brother John Turner, addressed the group 
assembled in the basement of the Hotel Albert and extended them an 
invitation to unite with the African Methodist Episcopal connection.
  Two years later, in 1869, these visionary church members bought a 
plot of land on Sylvan Street, now known as Martin Luther King Street. 
This beautiful edifice of Brown Chapel that stands today, with its 
imposing twin towers and Romanesque revival styling, was built in 1908 
by a black builder, Mr. A.J. Farley. Today, we celebrate 145 years of 
Brown Chapel--a history of faith, courage, and leadership.
  It took great courage in the early 1960s to defy an injunction that 
forbade all churches in Selma, Alabama, from holding mass meetings. 
Most churches in Selma refused to disobey the court order, but Brown 
Chapel opened its doors to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and became that 
wonderful church of courage that played such an integral role in the 
civil rights movement. Brown Chapel became an icon of the movement.
  It was from Brown Chapel that they marched on Bloody Sunday, 2 days 
later on Turnaround Tuesday, and on March 21, 1965, the day when the 
Selma to Montgomery march was finally completed. Leading the infamous 
Bloody Sunday was Hosea Williams, as well as our esteemed colleague in 
this Chamber, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.
  The story of Bloody Sunday will go down in the annals of history as a 
pivotal event in the civil rights movement. On March 7, 1965, at the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge, six blocks from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, 
mounted troops confronted the marchers on that bridge. Sheriff Jim 
Clark and his posse charged the marchers with tear gas and with billy 
clubs. That night, ABC News interrupted regularly scheduled programs to 
air footage of Bloody Sunday. By morning, news of the event had spread 
to nearly every American household, and thousands of supporters began 
to walk to Selma. The Selma to Montgomery march and the subsequent 
outrage led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  For 145 years, Brown Chapel has been a powerful agent of change. It 
has been a place where socioeconomic and racial barriers have been 
challenged, a place where barriers that divide our Nation have been 
broken down.
  Brown Chapel continues to make history. On March 4, 2007, then-
Senator Barack Obama, a Presidential candidate, gave the address for 
the annual Bridge Crossing Commemoration. It was during this address in 
2007 that Barack Obama thanked the ``Moses Generation'' and challenged 
the ``Joshua Generation.'' In his famous ``Joshua Generation'' speech, 
Obama asked what the present generation would do to fulfill the legacy, 
the obligations, and the debts that we owe to the people before them.
  As a proud member of Brown Chapel Church, I had the privilege of 
being there that day. And for me, his words were a call to action. It 
was because people prayed in Brown Chapel and people marched on the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge that a little black girl from Selma, Alabama, 
could dream and could one day stand here in this wonderful Chamber as 
the first black Congresswoman from the State of Alabama.
  Brown Chapel has been a pillar in my hometown of Selma, Alabama; and 
it still remains so today. I am a proud member of this church and have 
been for the last 30 years of my life. I was raised in this beautiful 
historic church, and I know its significance. I am now proud to 
represent the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama and proud of 
the many giants on whose shoulders I stand.
  In honor of the 145th anniversary of the historic Brown Chapel A.M.E. 
Church, I, Terri A. Sewell, Representative to the United States 
Congress from the Seventh District of Alabama, do hereby recognize 
Brown Chapel for its numerous contributions to the city of Selma, the 
State of Alabama, and this Nation. I ask those present today to join me 
in celebrating 145 years of historic Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church.

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