Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation

The Voting and Civil Rights Movement in the deep American South has impacted the world. However, it gave hope toward promises that have not yet been fulfilled. In the 1960s, many leaders of the movement held a long-term vision beyond desegregation and the ability to simply participate in the voting process. They envisioned a nation, indeed a world, where the systems and institutions that governed citizens and families were based on love and justice. For the Center, these and other key values are encapsulated in the primary values of nonviolence, truth and reconciliation. The architects of the Voting and Civil Rights Movement called this vision the Beloved Community.

The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation envisions the Beloved Community as a world where people’s similarities and differences are celebrated, and where policies in government and community institutions, as well as the culture they create, support fairness, equity, harmony, compassion and love in our interactions, as well as the sharing and preservation of resources for generations to come.