Foot Soldiers Park Youth Advisors celebrate two years of leading in Selma

Word around town is that there is a group of young people on the move toward excellence. Some people have come to call them “The Red Coat Kids.” Others ask when they see them, “Who are those kids?” They simply reply, we are the National Youth Advisory Board (YAB) of Foot Soldiers Park & Education, founded by civil rights foot soldier Joanne Bland. 

The group is less than two years old, but YAB is moving smoothly and strategically into Phase II, focusing on social injustice and advocacy. Phase I found them organizing and planning. This year, the city will see more boots on the ground. 

What exactly does this mean for the city of Selma and the other representative cities of the board? The load in many spaces they touch will certainly become lighter, according to them.

For five days, during their general meeting, in addition to their duties at the 3rd Anniversary Celebration, YAB completed a painting service project for the homeless shelter, traveled to two cities for professional development, hosted a Parent Welcome Reception, facilitated a panel discussion with the Conference of Black Mayors, which includes the World Conference of Mayors, sat in a courtroom as defense, prosecution and jury, marched in the annual Jubilee parade, greeted the attendees at the Annual Excellence Brunch of Salute Selma, and marched in the 59th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee and the Reenactment of Bloody Sunday—all while meeting on the historic campus of Selma University. The first classes held there were in 1878. The school was incorporated in 1881 and renamed “Selma University” in 1904.

As this year marked the 3rd Anniversary Celebration of Foot Soldiers Park (FSP) held on Saturday, March 2nd, the YAB served and assisted as its onsite YOURS facilitators on voter education and registration with a focus on unregistered 18-year-olds. Each teen who had an 18th birthday at some point but had not registered to vote yet celebrated with a cupcake balloon and a voter registration card to register on the spot through the card or digitally. 

They also participated in a mock trial on real life social injustice issues and other education sessions during the 59th Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee taking place the same weekend. The Jubilee commemorates the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

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Civic education and engagement is a twin duty of YAB. In addition to formal presentations and requests to local governments and bodies of authority, they participated in hosted events at The University of Alabama Law School (hosted by Law Professor Fair) and in the Senate at our State House (hosted by Sen. Rob Stewart). These are not tours for YAB. They are full workdays. 

These are our young leaders of today, so their annual agenda is rigorous. Classroom teaching is vital, and hands-on experience is priceless. Not only did YAB experience history, they engaged and worked to tackle issues related to social injustices and voter suppression, and interacted with Foot Soldiers who participated in the mass meetings and marches in 1965, including “Bloody Sunday.”

“This highly astute group of young people,” as Traci Lewis, a director at The Ohio State University, quoted a write-up she saw, “assisted in evaluating community needs and opportunities for impact while creating materials and toolkits for young people to learn concerning the history and the connection to current events, as well as participated in the formal visioning process for FSP’s built spaces and long-term programming.” She said, “They may be popular because they are highly visible in the red coats and orange polos, but they also put in the work of their mission.”

YAB president, Sydney Pritchett, was recently awarded a scholarship for a cumulative GPA of 4.26, and YAB Vice-President Micah Thomas, Jr. was chosen to represent the youth of Foot Soldiers Park, along with foot solder and founder Joanne Bland, in the gallery with Vice-President Kamala Harris on that Sunday. 

“If the future depends on scholars like these, my babies, we will be just fine,” said Bland.