Rev. Jim MaCDonnell

DC clergy member who responded to MLK call to Selma

CONGREGATION STORY

Rev. Jim Macdonell: It was March 7th, 1965. The news that evening, all over the news were pictures of the horrific events that had happened, showing police officers on horseback running down screaming people, running off the bridge. It just looked awful. You can see people being beaten and these were old people and young people. John Lewis was very badly beaten, the present congressman. It was one of the leaders, I think, and Hosea Williams. But he came into town immediately and put out an appeal on the air to the American clergy to respond. It was the only way we can assure that this won’t happen again is if you march with us. And I’m not asking for ten, I’m not asking for 20. I’d like to have 2000 of you come and march with us -- priests, rabbis, ministers. And there were 2000 people from all over the country came. And it happened very quickly. The phone calls started ringing. I was president of the Bethesda Council of Churches at that time, so I got a call. And we had to make a decision fast, rent a plane, and took off and flew down there. Got in there after dark in Montgomery. There were three or four vans waiting to pick us up to drive us the 50 miles up the highway. And so it all happened very quickly. There wasn’t time to, should I do this; not? Either we were going to do it or we didn’t. And it just kind of spontaneously took place. It took us a little longer than expected. We were stopped twice on the highway, it was a very darkened highway, by Alabama state troopers, who made us get out of our vans, took our pictures, asked what we were, trying to, it was a great game of intimidation. And it worked. We felt fairly well intimidated by that. Our young black drivers were frightened to death. And we were followed all the way to Selma by police cars behind us and so forth. We got there early evening, and the steps were crowded with people. And I remember doctor, seeing Dr. King come in looking very, very tired. Been a long day. We did not know at that time, he’d been on the telephone talking to the Department of Justice people who were there in town and in Washington whether we should march and where we should not march. In the morning, Dr. King telling us what was expected, answered questions. I remember there was a young Harvard professor that was there. And he wanted to discuss non-violence. And he said, “I am non-violent. But I don’t know what I would do if somebody started hitting me. I’m not sure what I would do.” And Dr. King smiled and said, “Sir, then you are excused.” There was no, there would be no question. If we were attacked, we were to protect ourselves or roll up in a ball, fall on somebody else, but if there was any thought that we were going to fight back, he didn’t want no part of that. It was very clear.

TURNAROUND TUESDAY STORY

Rev. Jim Macdonell: And it took about an hour to get everybody lined up and start the march out of town because the Edmund Pettus Bridge is about a half mile out of town. And, of course, we walked across the bridge and over the top of the bridge and down the other side. As we came down the highway, we looked across the highway, and there as far as we could see were flashing lights and police cars and helmeted troopers carrying shotguns blocking the way. It was very ominus. Dr. King got on a bullhorn, which he borrowed from Major Lingo of the Alabama police, and he said, “Folks, we’re going to have to stop. And we have been assured that we can kneel for a moment of prayer, which will be led by the right Reverend John Wesley Lord, the Methodist bishop of Washington D.C. And so we all, 2000 people going back up over the bridge, all knelt down on the pavement. I was up only about 10 feet from the front. And as I was kneeling there, all of a sudden I heard, “Oh Lord our God…” And it was not John Welsley Lord, it was my Presbyterian friend, the New York Abner Presbyterian Church. And he prayed. That was dear Dr. Docherty. He was a great man. He prayed for the people of Selma. He prayed for the governor of Alabama. He prayed for the troopers. He prayed for peace and reconciliation. It was very moving. We were very emotional. But they were the right, the right words were said.

REEB REACTION STORY

Rev. Jim Macdonell: And he stayed over. He and three other friends stayed over. And we were in a local restaurant that night, and they came out of the restaurant and a gang of bullies beat him with baseball bats and hurt him so badly he had a concussion and was unconscious and never recovered consciousness. Died at a local hospital. So it, when we got home and learned all this a couple days later, it certainly brought home that this was not a game; this was not, the potential for violence as had happened on Sunday was always there. We saw looks on people’s faces. I imagine most of them were probably church people. But they were very, very angry. They didn’t want to change.

NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF FREEDOM STORY

Rev. Jim Macdonell: Selma on the march out to Montgomery was a pivotal changing moment that was caused by some conditions we shouldn’t forget. And, you know, if those things can happen, they can happen again. And we, part of our American system is that we need to prevent that they never happen again, that any people, citizen of this country, are not deprived of their rights. And for an awful long time, good people, people of high standards and high belief, closed their eyes and didn’t see it, probably didn’t even know it existed. And ignorance is no excuse. You see the pictures, maybe read the text and see and hear the sounds. Never forget that those happened in our country not very long ago. And a lot of good people didn’t do anything about it and let it go on and on. And an awful lot of our brothers and sisters of color grew up in this country without any chance. Some of them never got there because it was too late. But at a certain time, a handful of people felt motivated and driven to do the right thing. And they did it. That was one of the great times in our country. And it was painful at the time and it was awful, some of the violence that was going on and the divisions, and the divisiveness. But sometimes you have to face those things and realize this is a part of our heritage. And we as Americans must assure that never happened again here or any place else.