FAMU sociology students prepare for Selma Anniversary research trip

A group of nine FAMU sociology students are heading to Selma this weekend, an Alabama town where activists staged events that forever changed voting rights in America.

The students will attend the Free Thinkers Forum honoring the work of eight courageous, unsung community heroes who fought for voting rights in the 1960s.

FAMU students will participate in and observe activities commemorating the historic Selma march and subsequent Voting Rights Act of 1965. They will use their notes and photographs from the trip to develop a research presentation and publication.

Omar Stewart, a senior sociology major from Muskegon Heights, Mich., helped to organize a fundraiser to support the trip.

“I’m looking forward to learning new ideas about advocacy and hearing stories about the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for voting rights,” said Stewart.

“We are learning more about the courage, blood, sweat, and tears of the ‘Courageous Eight’ whose contributions are not as well documented,” said Keith Parker, a professor of sociology and criminal justice and 2015 Civil Rights Conference organizer, who will travel with the students. “The popularity of the movie Selma opened the door to many more research possibilities for our students.”