Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Smallest Freedom Fighter”
Sheyann Webb grew up in a family of eight children in Selma, Alabama and attended a segregated public school until junior high school.
When Sheyann was nine, Dr. King visited Selma to talk to African-Americans voting rights. Sheyann heard King’s talk, and she soon began skipping school to go to voting rights demonstrations. One night a young black man was killed at a demonstration, so the African-American citizens organized a protest, a 54-mile march to Montgomery, the state capital. As the marchers were leaving Selma on March 7, 1965, they were ordered to turn back. The police attacked them with billy clubs and dispersed the crowd with tear gas. Older organizers protected Sheyann and got her home safely.
Later that year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law, and “bloody Sunday,” as the day of the march became known, was a turning point.
Today Sheyann Webb continues to be active for what she believes; she has seen that it can make a difference.
i like the way you stood up for your freedom no matter how small your height was!!!! you go gurl!
My students are wathcing Selma, Loed Selma for the first time, and they were so upset. They were thrilled that you stood up to the other folks. It was almost like like today’s voter ID’s.
My students are wathcing Selma, Loed Selma for the first time, and they were so upset. They were thrilled that you stood up to the other folks. It was almost like like today’s voter ID’s.
that movie is awsome and it shows you how to stood up at a very small age. You go girl!
Pingback: Freedom Fighters, sharing the legacy in Siouxland | lostinsiouxland
Hey there, this is Henry Watts, your cousin.
I have contacted you to get in contact your brother, Dan Webb.
If you could give me an email, phone number or whichever is more convenient I would surely appreciate it.
–Your cousin Henry Jr Watts
Pingback: Martin Luther King Jr. on The Declaration of Independence - America Comes Alive