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Selma March Presentation in Wichita

Carla Eckels

Retired Wichita educator and former Howard University Museum archivist Denise Nickens Randle will speak about the Selma Civil Rights March Wednesday at The Kansas African American Museum in Wichita. KMUW’s Carla Eckels reports…

Nickens Randle will discuss civil rights issues including the Selma March where in 1965, demonstrators lead by Martin Luther King, Jr., marched to Montgomery, Alabama, in support of voting rights. The historic march, help raise awareness of difficulties faced by black voters in the South, and the need for a Voting Rights Act, which was passed later that year. Nickens Randle says Kansas also contributed much to the civil rights cause.

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Rev. James Reeb

  "The first student sit-in began here in Wichita in 1958," says Nickens Randle, "and then also we have a connection with Selma with Rev. James Reeb who was born in Wichita and lived in this area."

Rev. Reeb joined the protests in Selma after a request from Dr. King to clergy to help in the march. He was attacked in Selma and later died from his injuries.

The presentation takes place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 18, 2015, at the museum in downtown Wichita.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.