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The Society
of Saint Edmund and the Sisters
of Selma
SSE in Selma
Sisters of Saint Joseph
1963-1965
Winter 1965
March 1965
After the March
Winter 1965
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The House Chronicle shows that on Jan 6, 1965, Mayor Smitherman, who was to become well known for his role in keeping demonstrators away from the polls as well as his racist statements, attended a dinner at the Edmundite Missions. Dinner also included an "evening of fine discussion on the present problem ." |
Mayor Joe Smitherman cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Good Samaritan Hospital. |
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| Rev. John Crowley posed with newspaper advertisement. | Rev. John Crowley with Dr. Martin Luther King |
The position of the Edmundites became more public on February 7, when Fr. John Crowley, Director of the Southern Missions, and head of the Good Samaritan Hospital, took out a full page advertisement in the Selma Times Journal. The Path to Peace in Selma was a strong statement on the crisis in religious and moral tones. The action was seen as provocative, although no formal condemnation resulted from its publication.
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| This page from the Selma House Chronicle shows a few February activities, including the Feb. 3 entry noting that visiting priests from Brooklyn, in town for a Civil Rights Rally, say Mass and dine with the Society. |
The crisis continued to grow. On February 18th Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26 year old attending a voting rights rally in Marion, Al. was shot and severely beaten. He was taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital. On Feb 26th he died there, becaming “the first martyr of the current campaign for the vote.” His death also brought even more exposure to the Selma crisis. At his funeral on Mar. 3, King scheduled a long awaited march from Selma to Montgomery for Sunday March 7.
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| Letter noting the passing of Jimmie Lee Jackson. |
SSE in Selma Sisters of Saint Joseph 1963-1965 Winter 1965 March 1965 After the March
