Concordia, Selma, to host third Civil Rights Symposium

Concordia College Alabama (CCA), in historic Selma, Ala., plans to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement — and the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery civil-rights marches — by sponsoring its third annual Civil Rights Symposium March 1-8.

The symposium is free and open to the public.

Events — which will take place on the college’s campus — will include:

a Gospel Concert by the CCA choir, 6 p.m. March 1.

a chapel service and Drama Team production, 11 a.m. March 2.

a showing of the 1999 Disney film, “Selma, Lord, Selma,” 5:30 p.m. March 2.

a Q-and-A session with Sheyann Webb-Christburg, co-author of the book Selma, Lord, Selma, 7 p.m. March 2.

a Leadership & Civil Rights seminar hosted by the Rev. Dr. Don Johnson, executive director of Lutheran Indian Ministries, Brookfield, Wis., and Tim Young Eagle, senior principal gifts officer for Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee Foundation and facilitator/trainer for Young Eagle Leadership Development, 7 p.m. March 3.

a chapel service with the Rev. Dr. Victor Belton, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Decatur, Ga., and a member of the LCMS Board of Directors, 11 a.m. March 4.

“Recollections of ’65” — former students of Alabama Lutheran Academy (now CCA) share their experiences during the Civil Rights Movement, 5 p.m. March 4.

“Recollections of ’65” — leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Selma share their experiences during the 1965 marches as well as present-day situations in the historic city, 7 p.m. March 4.

“Cultural Views from Around the Country: Challenges and Solutions from a Student Perspective,” a student panel, 3 p.m. March 5.

“How Do We Heal the Wounds?,” a presentation by Ambassadors of Reconciliation, 6 p.m. March 5.

a chapel service with the Rev. Roosevelt Gray Jr., LCMS director of Black Ministry, 11 a.m. March 6.

“What Are the Civil Rights Issues We Still Face, and as Christians, What Can We Do to Fix Them?” panel discussion, 2 p.m. March 6.

“What Roles Do Women Play in the Civil Rights Struggles, Especially as College-Aged Women?” women’s panel discussion, 4 p.m. March 6.

a “mock trial,” 5 to 7 p.m., followed by “a public conversation,” 7 to 9 p.m. March 6.

a presentation by retired LCMS Pastor Rev. William Griffin, 10 a.m. March 7.

a presentation by the Rev. Joseph Ellwanger, author of Strength for the Struggle: Insights from the Civil Rights Movement and Urban Ministry, who will recount his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in Selma, 11:30 a.m. March 7.

“Lutherans and the Civil Rights Struggle in Selma,” a seminar led by Dr. Kathryn Galchutt, associate professor of history at Concordia College—New York, Bronxville, N.Y., 1:30 p.m. March 7.

a worship service with the Rev. Donald Anthony, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Concord, N.C., 10 a.m. March 8.

Also on Sunday, March 8, sometime in the afternoon, symposium participants will march from the college to downtown Selma to take part in the annual “Unity March” across the Edmund Pettis Bridge.

For more information about the symposium or Concordia College Alabama — a historically black, four-year, LCMS college — visit ccal.edu or call 334-874-5700, Ext. 19818.

Posted Feb. 20, 2015