Selma, Lord, Selma

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrives in Selma and enters Brown Chapel AME Church, where Sheyann Webb is playing nearby. She watches him lead the movement with calm authority and the crowd's energy. King reads a report Sheyann wrote about him and invites her to sing at a later meeting.

After school Sheyann and Rachel sneak into a meeting where King reads her report aloud and seems impressed. He asks her to perform again that night, boosting her confidence in the movement. She meets King face-to-face for the first time.

Pastor Jonathan Daniels arrives in Selma to help Dr. King and the movement, staying with Rachel’s family. The local minister Father Whitaker warns of the danger ahead. Jonathan becomes a key ally in organizing and supporting the cause.

Sheyann’s mother scolds her for skipping school but allows her to participate in the movement. At the meeting, King teaches the children to answer 'Freedom' when asked what they want. Sheyann then sings 'Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around' for the group, inspiring others and tightening the movement’s momentum.

The next day Sheyann again joins a march and learns that a cross was burned in the night, witnessed by Jonathan. He cannot report the crime to the police because there are no active Ku Klux Klan groups in the area. The act sharpens the sense of danger for the children and their families.

The march to the courthouse to register faces harassment from the sheriff, who orders Sheyann to leave and arrests everyone else. The event demonstrates the legal and police barriers facing the movement and strengthens resolve to continue. King prays with the group as the arrests unfold.

Returning from the courthouse, Sheyann convinces her teacher to teach about freedom, and the rest of the school begins marching too. Jonathan, Jimmie Lee Jackson, and Willie start going around town to recruit more people to join the movement. The movement expands beyond the church and into schools and neighborhoods.

Jonathan tries to persuade Sheyann’s dad to join the movement, but he refuses after Sheyann's sister was arrested and sent north. The family’s fear and concern highlight the personal costs of activism during the era. The strain foreshadows further tough choices ahead.

After being released from jail, King proclaims that 'We’re not going to take it anymore,' signaling renewed resolve. The movement’s rhetoric and solidarity grow as more people commit to marching and demanding change. The sense of urgency spreads through the community.

That night, Jimmie Lee Jackson is killed by troopers while protecting his grandfather from a beating, and Dr. King holds a funeral for him. The death intensifies the movement’s urgency and grief, reminding participants of the costs involved. The community mourns but vows to continue the fight.

To draw attention to Jimmie Lee’s death and ongoing discrimination, Jonathan organizes a march to Montgomery to present a petition to Governor Wallace. The act widens the protest beyond Selma and raises the stakes for state authorities. Supporters prepare for a broader confrontation with systemic racism.

On March 7, 1965, marchers cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge toward Montgomery and are brutally attacked by police. Sheyann is traumatized by the violence, but Jonathan manages to get her home safely as her parents offer comfort. The televised assault becomes a national turning point in the civil rights movement.

The next day in church, some marchers are hurt and frightened, but Sheyann’s singing lifts their spirits. President Johnson announces the Voting Rights Bill, and Dr. King and the movement vow to press on. Jonathan and Willie travel to Hayneville to recruit more marchers and are arrested for putting up signs.

Jonathan Daniels is killed by a gas-station clerk who had earlier helped him; Sheyann is heartbroken, yet her father ultimately chooses to march with her. She and Dr. King resume marching toward the Capitol, and the police eventually let them through. The movement endures through personal loss and steadfast leadership.

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law, delivering a major legislative victory. In Montgomery, Sheyann directs a youth program for children of all races, and Rachel’s brother becomes a two-term City Councilman. Jimmie Lee Jackson is memorialized annually in Marion, and in 1994 Jonathan Daniels is canonized by the Episcopal Church.