Wisconsin Senator honors Selma's Jo Ann Bland with resolution

Selma civil rights legend Jo Ann Bland was honored in a resolution and tribute in the Wisconsin Legislature during their recent session.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin presented Senate-S2164 on April 30 that served as a commendation for Bland, the youngest person jailed for protesting for equal civil rights and voting rights at age 11 in 1965, who passed away in February. 

Baldwin met Bland in 2005 and encouraged Bland to come to Wisconsin to educate residents about the civil rights movement. Bland participated in a presentation 25 years ago called “Milwaukee: The Selma of the North” and traveled to campuses and communities throughout Wisconsin to educate about efforts to push for equal civil rights and voting rights. 

In a Congressional Record for the Wisconsin Senate, Baldwin outlined Bland’s contributions to the movement and says Bland touched the Selma community and beyond. 

“Ms. Bland’s life work of activism and education towards a better America will be remembered in all our hearts,” Baldwin said in the Congressional Record. “As a lifelong civil rights leader, her impact on Selma and beyond will continue through the institutions she has built and will be felt beyond her passing.”