Carl Ulrich returns to Selma, Alabama, for first time since 1965 peace march
'We liked to pretend we didn't know what was going on in the south,' says Ulrich of early days
An Edmonton man has returned to Selma for the first time since he watched hundreds of unarmed protesters try to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama in early March 1965.
This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the first and unsuccessful attempt by civil rights activists to cross the bridge.
Carl Ulrich, 79, grew up in the United States in a time when the struggle for civil rights was reaching its boiling point.
He watched with horror as the peaceful protesters trying to take a stand on the bridge were attacked by Alabama State Police on Mar. 7, 1965 — a moment that was, for him, a call to action.
"I think what really got to me was when I saw what happened with Bloody Sunday. The fact that was covered by TV, so the whole world saw that, which was just horrendous," he said.
"I mean people, we liked to pretend we didn't know what was going on in the south, but when we saw something like that, there was just no way you could ignore it."
Ulrich answered the call.
"To me, it just felt like I had to do it," he said. "I felt if there were enough people there, and especially white people, that this would give some protection to the black community."
After he arrived, Ulrich and four other supporters slept on the floor in a public housing apartment that already housed a family of 13. A local church congregation supplied his food.
"It was really incredible, how friendly they were with this, and taking people into their homes — and also what was interesting is that most of us, as white middle-class northerners, really had very little experience in terms of living with people, living in public housing, and that was really quite a moving experience and an eye opener."
Alabama's governor George Wallace refused to grant protection for the march, so Ulrich and the others had to wait for nearly a week until federal protection could be put in place.
While they waited, they kept busy with outreach.
On March 21, 1965, the historic march from Selma to Montgomery began with federal protection.
Led by Dr. King, the thousands-strong group marched 10 miles — but as the road narrowed, the numbers had to be reduced to 300. Ulrich was among those who ended his march there.
The experience changed his life, he said.
Ulrich left the ministry a year later to work on civil rights issues as a community organizer, and eventually moving to Alberta in 1972. Today, he lives in Edmonton.
You can listen to Kim Nakrieko's full radio documentary on Ulrich by clicking on the audio link above.
With files from CBC's Kim Nakrieko