60th Anniversary of Selma Event
On March 15, 2025, we gathered at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Selma voting rights marches, celebrating the courageous sisters and allies who answered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for justice.
At a time when voting rights and racial justice remain urgent issues, these women’s legacy reminds us that:
- Faith demands courage: These women risked their safety to live the Gospel’s call for justice
- Change requires solidarity: Sisters from multiple orders, alongside lay allies like the Vatterott family, modeled intersectional activism
- History must be preserved: Firsthand accounts combat the erasure of women’s roles in civil rights
The Film Screening
The event opened with an introduction and subsequent screening of Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change, the Regional Emmy-nominated documentary that first revealed Catholic sisters’ crucial role in the 1965 voting rights marches.
The Panel Discussion
The panel discussion was the heart of the event, and two of the panelists traveled from across the country to be able to participate in the discussion. The conversation featured:
- S. Barbara Moore, CSJ (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) – Who traveled to Selma from Kansas City to march in protest of civil rights violations and in response to Bloody Sunday.
- S. Rosemary Flanigan, CSJ (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) – Who traveled to Selma from St. Louis to march in protest of civil rights violations and in response to Bloody Sunday.
- Claire Vatterott Hundelt – daughter of civil rights supporter Charles Vatterott who chartered planes for activists
- S. Barbara Lum, SSJ (Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester) – who provided critical medical care to injured marchers
- Jayasri Hart – filmmaker of Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change
The panelists describe their unique experiences with the Selma marches during the civil rights movement in 1965 and the impacts it has had on them since.
How did the experience in Selma really change you? How did it shift your perspective?
– S. Barbara Moore
“Well, Silence is not an option. Try to use the proper means of communication, the proper channels of communication, but to speak up when I feel it’s the need. And appropriately, most of the time.”
“In addition to chartering the planes, he (Charles Vatterott) also brought with him a briefcase of $25,000 in cash, just in case any of the sisters would be arrested. And I heard this from my late brother-in-law Jerry Holden, who was there with him, who might have even had to hold on to the briefcase himself, who said, ‘you know, the men can handle a night in jail, but not the sisters.’”
Claire vatterott hundelt
Archbishop Toolen did not allow you to march. So how did you feel about that restriction? And how did you find other ways to contribute to the movement?
S. Barbara Lum
“I didn’t have a lot of feeling about-well I did-about the restriction, but we had no intention of being put out of Alabama, out of his diocese, when we had a hospital to run and our grade school, and we had a school of nursing. I mean, if we were gone, we did not have a provision for who was going to take over those numbers too. So, it was kind of a no-brainer for us. Let’s stay where we were and do what we were doing.”
“I realized that when you want to tell a story of change, it has to come from every angle. If you just tell it from one angle, then you’re losing part of your audience. And that, to me, is the bottom line. I know I can’t get everybody, but however many people that Sister Barbara and, you know, the two Sister Barbaras and Sister Rosemary and everybody, have to reach. I wanted to reach them.”
Jayasri Hart
“In your fight for civil rights, what advice would you give to young people? The same advice I would give to kids, to middle-aged, and to us oldsters.
S. Rosemary Flanigan
Treat every person with dignity.
There is a scarcity in our culture today of kindness. I think every one of us ought to get out of bed in the morning resolving to be kind that day. It’d be a dream.”
The event honored two additional members of the 1965 Selma delegation from St. Louis: Therese Stawowy and Christine Nava, former members of the Sisters of Loretto community in St. Louis. Though no longer part of the order, both remain active in social justice work today. Unable to attend in person, they shared reflections on their experiences.
“As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the momentous civil rights marches of the 60’s, I am reminded that it was the social injustices, the hate, the inhumane treatment of the Blacks that gave rise to the civil rights movement. I am reminded of the courage of those walking in Selma in face of the threatening Alabama militia, and of the reverent behavior of the marchers. I am reminded of the sense of urgency on the faces of the young students dashing about asserting their role in the march. I am also reminded that it was the courage, determination and resilience of Martin Luther King and his followers that shaped the movement and led to significant achievements
Christine Nava
We are in a moment in history when hatred, divisiveness, disregard for human and nonhuman life threatens our very existence. We are in a crisis that reaches and affects humanity across the oceans. As in Selma those many years ago, we answered the call to bear witness to human rights, today we are called to bear witness to love over hate. This is hard work that requires the resilience, courage, and determination of the leaders of the civil rights movement. My hope is that the younger generation will answer the call to work to reclaim the heart of democracy.”
Escondido, CA
March 02, 2025