Date: May 23, 2008
Contact: Tina Smiley, 334-877-1984

05/23/08Selma, Alabama--The National Park Service is pleased to announce Selma Middle School CHAT Academy as a recipient of the 2008 YOUTH PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM (YPP). Education about the resource (Selma Middle School Chat Academy) is an important program objective of the Youth Partnership Program (YPP).  The YPP is one of the most effective programs in the country for introducing young people to the conservation of natural and cultural resources. Students from CHAT Academy will play a major role in collecting oral historical information from former R. B. Hudson High School students. The information collected will be recorded and stored on a cyber-exchange network and will be accessible over the internet for students across the United States.

The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail is a unit of the National Park Service. The Trail begins at Brown Chapel AME Chapel Church located in Selma and ends at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. The National Park Service recognizes that many of the places and citizens of Selma were instrumental in pressing forward to obtain voting right privileges. Through local community meetings, affiliated primary and secondary sites of the Trail have been established. The impact of these sites in 1965 contributed significantly to the signing of the Voting Rights Act. Selma Middle School, CHAT Academy is an affiliate site of the Trail, formerly known as R.B. Hudson High School.

This project takes a unique cross-generational approach, with present students interviewing and learning from former political activists who attended the same school. To honor the former students, Selma Middle School will establish an Explorative Voting History Research Center. The Center will house several computer stations as well as paraphernalia and associated historical documents related to R. B. Hudson High School. Educational curriculums will be available.

The National Park Service seeks partnerships with entities in communities interested in preserving cultural and natural history. This effort has been made possible by the Selma City School Board, Superintendent, Principal and teachers of CHAT Academy.