By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

The National Park Service is extending the deadline for its walking classroom in March.

Applications for the event were originally due by Jan. 15, but the NPS has pushed the deadline back to Friday, Jan. 30 to allow more people to apply.

The walking classroom will give 150 young adults ages 18 through 25 and 150 public participants a chance to walk in the footsteps of civil rights activists that marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

Participants will march part of the 54-mile trail from Selma to Montgomery, camp outside and listen to discussions about the Civil Rights Movement. The NPS is asking participants to keep a journal during the event so they can look back on their experience.

The weeklong classroom will teach participants about the importance of voting and the impact the march had on getting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The walking classroom is free for youth participants except for transportation to and from the base camp at the Lowndes Interpretive Center.

Public participants are responsible for providing their own food and camping gear during the march.

Applications for the walking classroom can be found online at www.nps.gov/semo and in the interpretive centers located in both Selma and White Hall.

Youth participants must be 18-years-old by March 1 to participate in the overnight camp.

Applications can be faxed to 877-1985 or emailed to semo_walking_classroom@nps.gov. They can also be mailed to Walking Classroom, 7002 U.S. Highway 80 West, Hayneville, AL 36040.