On 25 March 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after a 5-day, 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) had been campaigning for voting rights. King told the assembled crowd: “There never was a moment in American history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger at the side of its embattled Negroes” (King, Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March, 121). To learn more, check out this article here.

The YWCA Alaska invites you to participate in our Race Against Racism: MLK Edition! to honor this milestone in Civil Rights by running, walking, marching, strolling 54 miles from March 1 - March 25! All funding raised through registration fees and donations goes towards eliminating racism and empowering women by hosting Courageous Conversations, engaging our local youth, and continuing to march bravely with our marginalized neighbors.