Selma, 1965

“Selma, 1965” contributes to poems that celebrate and remember the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s. The poems in this category are rooted in social justice and engage themes of racism, discrimination, and elements of nonviolent protest. Representing an essential part of American history and the struggle Black Americans faced for civil rights, justice, and equality, the poems in this category are often defined by their pride, praise, and resistance. Poets like Nikki Giovanni and Margaret Walker—who were deeply influenced by this historical movement—wrote poems that celebrate Black identity and look toward freedom. Giovanni’s poems “Dreams” (1968) and “Mothers” (1972) are two examples of poems that engage themes of hope while simultaneously documenting pain and suffering.

House’s “Selma, 1965” honors a crucial, historical moment in the past: the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama led by the prominent civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965. This poem functions as a tribute to those who marched that day, remembering their determination to bring forth change. In writing this poem, House documents the memory of the Selma march in its reality, from the “grey knees” (Line 18) of the protestors to the drab scenery (“against the set of their / wet brick project homes” [Lines 22-23]).