Amelia Boynton Robinson:MATRIARCH OF THE VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Left: Amelia Boynton (Robinson) after attack of marchers at Edmund Pettus Bridge, Bloody Sunday, Alabama
Right: Amelia Boynton (Robinson) with President Lyndon Johnson
On Thursday, March 29, 2012 Dr. Amelia Boynton Robinson spoke at the University of Alabama to more than 75 students, faculty and staff on the invitation of Dr. Amalia K. Amaki and her students in the course, "African American Art of the Civil Rights Era" (ARH 481:001). Dr. Robinson, assisted by "Chief" Leon Frazier literally taught the class on the special occasion. A discussion of Bloody Sunday and some of the events leading up to the March 7, 1965 attack of marchers on Edmund Pettus Bridge, notably that the Voting Rights movement in Selma, AL led to the three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 that were pivotal to the national Civil Rights movement. At the forefront of that push was Mrs. Boynton and (until his death) her husband S.W. (Samuel William) Boynton. The fateful day on the Pettus Bridge resonated with many artists of the African Diaspora in the US and became a theme in paintings, prints and other media, with Jacob Lawrence's "Confrontation at the Bridge" (1975) being the most well known work. Upon learning that Mrs. Boynton (Robinson) was still alive and still living in Alabama, the interest of the class grew to the point that an invitation to visit was extended. The lecture received support from the Diversity Committee, College of Arts and Sciences.
(Lecture Program)Post Lecture Photos:
