Marion in Perry County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

A Seed is Planted

— Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail —

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 28, 2018

1. A Seed is Planted Marker

Inscription. On February 18, 1965, a night march was planned to support activist James Orange, incarcerated in the Perry County Jail. Preachers led participants from this church, Zion Chapel Methodist, the physical and spiritual base of the movement in Marion. But armed state troopers in riot gear immediately confronted them. Suddenly the lights went out in the square behind them and nightsticks started swinging. Heads were clubbed and bodies trampled. There was screaming and blood.

Jimmie Lee Jackson, a Vietnam veteran, fled to Mack's Café (then directly behind the church) for safety, but the troopers followed. Jackson was shot while trying to protect his grandfather and mother. He died of his wounds on February 26. At his funeral, SCLC leader James Bevel declared, "it would be fitting to take Jimmie Lee's body and march it all the way to the state capital in Montgomery," planting the seed for one of the greatest efforts of the civil rights movement.

They beat people at random. They didn't have to be marching. All you had to do was be black.
Albert Turner, SCLC
worker from Marion

Main photo: Marchers protest for the right to vote in front of the Perry County Courthouse in Marion, February 1965. © Alabama Department of Public Safety
Inset photo: Mourners gather around the casket of Jimmie Lee Jackson. © Bettman/Corbis

Erected 2015

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by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is February 18, 1965.

Location. 32° 37.954′ N, 87° 19.07′ W. Marker is in Marion, Alabama, in Perry County. It is at the intersection of Pickens Street and Jefferson Street, on the right when traveling north on Pickens Street. Located in front of Zion United Methodist Church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 Pickens St, Marion AL 36756, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jimmie Lee Jackson / Jackson's Death Led to 'Bloody Sunday' March

A Seed is Planted on right side of Zion United Methodist Church. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 28, 2018

2. A Seed is Planted on right side of Zion United Methodist Church.

(within shouting distance of this marker); Marion (within shouting distance of this marker); Nicola Marschall (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Perry County Veterans Memorial (about 300 feet away); Confederate 6-pounder Field Gun (about 300 feet away); Muckle's Ridge (about 400 feet away); Honoring: Reverend James Orange (about 400 feet away); In Memory of Albert Turner, Sr. (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marion.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia article on the Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson. (Submitted on April 28, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Marion added to Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Alabama Media Group entry (Submitted on April 28, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 956 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 28, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.