The historic bungalow located on Lapsley Street was built in 1916 was initially owned by Booker T. Washington. Later owned by the Amelia and Samuel Boynton, the home played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement. The home served as a hub for civil rights leaders during the Selma voting rights campaign. Civil rights illuminaries, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, Diane Nash, C.T. Vivian, and Bernard Lafayette, gathered here. The first draft of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was written here.
The house is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, years of neglect have left it in severe disrepair. After acquiring the property in 2008, the Gateway Educational Foundation completed emergency repairs but the building remains at risk. The foundation hopes to restore the home and transform it into a museum that will celebrate Selma’s civil rights history,
Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson
Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson was a widow at the time of the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery, as her husband died two years previous. She was one of the organizers of the march. On Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, she was towards the front of the marchers where she was beaten unconscious by a white police officer. Photographs of her were featured in newspapers across the world. She later joined President Lyndon B. Johnson for the signing of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Mrs. Robinson remain involved in politics and civil rights until she passed in 2015 at the age of 110.
For a fuller biography, please read her entry on Wikipedia.
