re: How Do White People From Alabama Feel About "Selma" Here?

My kids - my family move to Selma when I was in the 7th grade. I graduated HS in1989.

My parents sold there house in the mid 90s. We still have property between Selma and Montgomery that they have built a house on recently.

I agree with what you said about the town. I didn't know much of the history of Selma when I moved there and was shocked at some of the stories I was told about the 60s & 70s.

I was shocked when school was cancelled when Coach Bryant died. I didn't really even know much about him at that time. Wasn't a Bama fan growing up prior to moving to AL. Obviously, I became a fan and that is where I have my degree from but man, it was weird to me when everyone was crying and freaking out when he died.

For the most part people from Selma are not any more racist than those from anywhere else. the majority of the people I worked with at my father's business were AA and we're very nice to me and I was to then. I was raised to respect people, race doesn't matter, people matter.

Ad for the OP's questions, i got a lot of people assuming that I was a racist just because of where I was from. It was a horrible feeling and I decided to just call Tuscaloosa my home when asked by people from other states. It was just easier and I didn't get a stigma just because of where I had lived and was more accepted. This happened a lot when I had traveled to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and other western states when I was younger and still in college. There are a lot of nice people from Selma and it was a pretty fun town when I was in hs.

The opening line of The Go Between by L.P. Hartley, 1953, "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

I recommend that you don't restrict yourself to current that cover history. Find some books written in the 50s and even earlier. I'm not talking about black/white relations, but a world view that can be different and interesting.

Every state has had race issues not just the southern ones.

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I didn't ask if YOU had done anything. I asked how you felt about the history.

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I don't feel one way or the other. I really don't care since I wasn't even alive then.

She fine

I think Selma in 2015 only matters to the white racist, black racists or any other color racists that need to hang on to something that only other racists care about.

This black man was born in Alabama.

Married a white girl.

DGAF about the state's sordid past when it comes to race. No skin off my nose. It happened, and there are still racial issues to deal with (just like other parts of the country), but it's not affecting my day to day life, nor will I let it.

Also, don't have plans to see "Selma." I wanna see "Interstellar" again

I'm not from Alabama but weird that you only want a historical perspective from white people. That's probably why you are getting defensive responses.

Literally don't have any feelings towards it. I'm only interested in it from a historical prospective because I'm a history geek. It's not like embarrassing segregation and hate only took place in Alabama.