Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, where historic Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights marches started, desperately needs some loving attention.
“When people come to Selma, they want to see the Edmund Pettus Bridge and they want to see the Brown Chapel AME Church,” said Juanda Maxwell, project manager and chair of the Historic Brown Chapel AME Church Preservation Society. “Brown Chapel was the headquarters for marches to get the attention of the world to say we needed the Voting Rights Act.”
Thanks to $1.3 million in federal grants, the church built in 1908 will get new wooden cupolas on its Romanesque Revival twin towers and structural repairs that could save the historic structure.
“It has been a long project,” Maxwell said. “We’re real honored we were able to get that much grant money.”
Civil rights activists including John Lewis were beaten by law officers on “Bloody Sunday,” March 7, 1965. They started their march at Brown Chapel and retreated there after the confrontation at Edmund Pettus Bridge. Nearby First Baptist Church served as headquarters for the Selma campaign and office for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The marches began at Brown Chapel.
“Not only did they leave from Brown Chapel, they fled to Brown Chapel,” Maxwell said. “It touched the hearts of people in this country. Brown Chapel is the citadel of civil rights. It was a pivotal point. It allowed the Voting Rights Act to be passed in August 1965.”
On June 23, the church hosted a celebration to mark the start of the restoration. Gov. Kay Ivey and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, who is from Selma, attended the event.
The church has 160 members on its rolls, but fewer than 50 people attended Sunday services before the pandemic, which halted services in March 2020. “Covid has been devastating to our church,” Maxwell said. “We have not started back from Covid.”
In 2008, several church members organized to begin raising funds for restoration and incorporated the non-profit foundation in 2009, which remains separate from the church.
“The fact we’ve been able to do this without a large congregation is a miracle,” Maxwell said.
They raised $23,000 to begin applying for grants for historic preservation.
“It’s been a long process,” she said. “We had to learn. We had to do a lot of research. These grants became available under President Obama.”
She and her husband, Leroy Maxwell, have led the effort.
“We have been loving members for over 25 years,” she said. “We have a love for it.”
Brown Chapel is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“The National Park Service had to approve all the restoration plans,” Maxwell said. “It took them a year. Everything has to be restored to its original intent. It’s making the whole building sound.”
The restoration is mainly structural.
“If you’re looking at the pipe organs to the left, it’s structurally compromised,” Maxwell said. “That’s really expensive to replace beams. The balcony is sagging. We’ve been able to take good care of it for a building that’s 113 years old.”
The wooden domes on the church, which are leaking, proved to be a challenge to replace.
“We wanted to replace it with a material like wood,” Maxwell said. “They don’t want that. We’ve got to find the best wood that doesn’t deteriorate.”
Maxwell was excited that Gov. Ivey plans attended the ceremony.
“It’s a pleasure and absolute joy that she would come,” Maxwell said.
“People have shown us so much grace,” she said.
Even after this project, more needs to be done, Maxwell said.
“We have to raise more,” she said. “We want to do the kitchen and bathroom. People will help you when you help yourself.”
People who know the story of the American civil rights movement know the importance of Selma and this church, Maxwell said.
“Brown Chapel just doesn’t belong to us,” she said. “Brown Chapel belongs to the world.”