A newly formed non-profit organization in Selma is hosting a weeklong event to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the 13th Amendment and the end of slavery.

The amendment was signed by Congress on Jan. 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on Dec. 6, 1865.

“We’re doing this as a way to commemorate the end of slavery but also recognizing that Selma, although we’ve overcome a lot, we still have a long way to go,” said Ainka Jackson, executive director of the center.

“And we need to understand our history and we need to heal so we can be prosperous and be the Selma that we want to see.”

The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation started “A Week of History and Healing” Monday with workshops and street crusades with Silky Slim, a formed gang leader in California. Jackson said Slim visited the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center to talk to teenagers about changing their lives and making a difference without using violence.

Slim will continue his workshops today and the night will be capped off with Brotherhood, Chicken & Beer, at 6:30 p.m. at the Mahogany Room with Silky Slim and Dr. Robert White.

“Slavery in this country was so horrific, and it has had lasting effects on this country and on African Americans specifically,” Jackson said. “It is something we don’t like to talk about. We like to pretend that it didn’t happen.”

Jackson said the workshops will help people learn about slavery and coming to terms with the history of it.

“We recognize that in order for there to be reconciliation, there has to be truth first, and so we have to deal with the reality of what happened,” Jackson said. “This is us coming to terms with that, learning the history, knowing the truth and from there being able to heal.”

The week of events will feature workshops with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement and nonviolence training.

For a full calendar of events, go to the center’s website www.selmacenterfornonviolence.org. Jackson said the week of events, which lasts until Dec. 5, is free to attend.