Links, Inc. holds Unity Breakfast
Published 11:50 pm Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Smallest Freedom Fighter,” author Sheyann Webb-Christburg spoke Monday of her memories of Dr. King at the Selma Chapter of The Links, Inc.’s annual Unity Breakfast.
Webb-Christburg was eight years old when she participated in what would become known as the Bloody Sunday march. She spoke about meeting King and that fateful Sunday.
Charles Mauldin, one of Selma’s 1965 Foot Soldiers, was recognized as a Distinguished Citizen of the Year, along with the late Jean Jackson, at the Selma Chapter of The Links, Inc’s. Unity Breakfast. Sheyann Webb-Christburg, co-author of “Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Days,” spoke at the annual event, which was held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“[King was] a man who with his voice and heart changed our hearts and changed our laws for the better,” she said. “I feel grateful. I know deep down in my heart I can never repay the debt I owe this great man.”
Webb-Christburg said King left an indelible mark on her life.
“He plucked me from the poverty of Selma. Dr. King gave me hope and a sense of achievement that motivated me to make a difference,” she said. “Dr. King made me feel like someone special. In fact, I knew I was special because a very special person told me.”
Sheyann Webb-Christburg speaks at the Links’ Unity Breakfast.
Webb-Christburg was born Feb. 17, 1956, in Selma to John and Betty Webb, and was one of eight children. As a child, she meet King outside Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church and would sneak out to attend meetings about voting rights.
On March 7, 1965, she was the youngest person to attempt to march to Mongtomery. After the marchers were attacked by state troopers and other law enforcement, she ran away and was picked up by the Rev. Hosea Williams.
“This was so devastating to me as a little girl. What I saw and witnessed would strike a chord with any child at any age,” she said.
Her book “Selma Lord Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Day” with chilhood friend Rachel West became the basis for the Disney movie, “Selma Lord Selma.”
“The picture of Bloody Sunday has never left my heart, nor my mind … I saw people crawling, crying, bleeding, falling. I didn’t know what to do but run. Hosea Williams picked me up and my little legs were galloping in his arms.”
During the breakfast, Charles Mauldin, one of Selma’s 1965 foot soldiers, and the late Jean Jackson, author of “The House by the Side of the Road: The Selma Civil Rights Movement,” were recognized with the Distinguished Citizen Award.
