Brown Chapel AME to temporarily reopen during Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee

The historic Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church will temporarily reopen during the upcoming Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee commemorating the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday. 

The church has been undergoing a series of renovations after being granted $1 million from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (Action Fund), a division of the National Trust for Preservation. 

"Brown Chapel AME is a cultural treasure and a living testament to our nation's history and democracy. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Action Fund and its partners are helping to ensure this historic church's role in guaranteeing all Americans have the right to vote is cemented as part of that story," said Brent Leggs, executive director of the Action Fund and strategic advisor to the CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"After nearly six years of extensive preservation work to save this iconic space, I am thrilled that the 61st Bloody Sunday commemoration service will be taking place in Brown Chapel's beautiful sanctuary once more and that current and future generations will share in the legacy of those who organized and marched for our freedom in 1965."

There will be an opening celebration on March 5 at 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the following speakers: 

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• Brown Chapel AME Church Pastor Leodis Strong and members of the congregation
• Ms. Joyce O’Neal, Steward Pro-Tem, Historic Brown Chapel AME Church
• Tiffany Tolbert, Sr. Director of Preservation at the AACHAF
• Al Perry, Historic Brown Chapel AME Church Preservation Society Inc.

A commemoration service will be held on March 8 at 8:30 a.m. with these speakers: 

• Brown Chapel AME Church Pastor Leodis Strong
• Bishop Julius Harrison McAllister, Jr., AME Church 9th Episcopal District
• Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Rep. Terri A. Sewell, Congresswoman for Alabama's 7th District
• Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., President & CEO, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
• Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel, Legal Defense Fund

Click here to RSVP.