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A religious youth group from Illinois stopped by Selma during its Civil Rights tour.

The Greenville (Illinois) Free Methodist  Youth Group Pilgrimage 2021 toured historic parts of the Queen City and walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

The 58 member group, mixed with students and adults, wore red t-shirts with the FMY Pilgrimage and a theme, “Love Driven or Bust.”

Greg Groves, Youth Pastor at Greenville FMY, said the purpose of the trip is providing the students a history lesson about the Civil Rights, some that began in the Queen City with Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Discussions about Civil Rights icons Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Rep. John Lewis were a big part of their chat.

“This is a Civil Rights Tour,” Groves said. “The trip is super important.

“You can’t move forward unless you know history.  How can you step into the lives of African-Americans who were beaten and went to jail.”

The FMY tour also stopped at Memphis, Montgomery, St. Louis, Alton, Illinois and back to Greenville.