Civil Rights Icon Joanne Bland Dead At 72
Joanne Bland, Civil Rights Icon And Youngest Bloody Sunday Marcher, Dies At 72
Civil rights activist and Bloody Sunday marcher Joanne Bland has died at 72, her family confirmed in a statement shared with AL.com. The co-founder of Foot Soldiers Park passed away Feb. 19, “surrounded by love, leaving behind a legacy of strength, grace, and unwavering dedication to her family and community.”
Her family has asked for privacy and said funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
Joanne Bland made history as the youngest person to participate in Bloody Sunday.
A native of Selma, Alabama, Bland made history on March 7, 1965, when, at just 11 years old, she became the youngest person to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. She walked alongside her older sister, Lynda, on the day that would become known as Bloody Sunday, a pivotal moment in the fight for passage of the Voting Rights Act, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.
On the Foot Soldiers Park website—an organization she co-founded in 2021 to promote community-driven preservation of Selma’s legacy, revitalize its economy, and cultivate the next generation of activists—Bland reflected on that harrowing day:
“By the time I was 11 years old, I had been arrested at least 13 documented times. I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, marching alongside more than 600 peaceful activists who ended up being brutally beaten, tear-gassed, and hit or trampled by policemen on horses with Billy clubs. At one point, I saw a horse near me, and then a woman fell. I can still hear the sound of her head hitting the pavement. I must have fainted after that, because the next thing I knew, I was in a car with my head in my sister’s lap, and her blood was dripping from wounds on her head. Later, she needed 26 stitches.”
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Long before that pivotal march, Bland’s commitment to social justice had been shaped by her grandmother. She attended meetings of the Dallas County Voters League, led by longtime civil rights activist Amelia Boynton. By the age of 8, Bland had joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a youth-led organization known for organizing sit-ins at racially segregated restaurants throughout the South.
“We all wanted to do our part to make the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, equal justice and equal treatment, a reality for ourselves and our families,” she noted.
Joanne Bland was the co-founder of Journeys for the Soul and the National Civil Rights Museum and Institute.
Bland dedicated her life to ensuring that the events of Bloody Sunday, and the broader struggle for civil rights, were never forgotten. Committed to education and historical preservation, she helped co-found the National Civil Rights Museum and Institute in 1993. In 2007, she launched Journeys for the Soul, a tour company that brought visitors from across the country and around the world to Selma to learn about the sacrifices made by the foot soldiers in the fight for racial justice.
“As I lead groups through Selma now, on the trail of the foot soldiers of 1965, we see clearly the connections between our history and our current reality with ongoing voter suppression and racial inequities,” Bland penned on her website. “But we can all take action that makes a difference.”
She added, “It’s my belief that movements for social change are like jigsaw puzzles. Everyone is a unique and special piece. If your piece is missing, the picture is not complete. Why? Because you’re the most important piece.”
Community leaders also paid tribute to Bland’s legacy.
“Today, Selma has lost one of her greatest daughters,” said Mayor Johnny Moss III, according to WVTM 13, adding that Bland “carried the spirit of Selma with strength, truth, and unwavering courage.”
“I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ms. Joanne Bland — a freedom fighter and daughter of Selma, Alabama,” said Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. “It was Foot Soldiers like Joanne who put their lives and freedom on the line for the right of all Americans to vote.”
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