As the nation marks the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the March 7, 1965 attack on peaceful voting-rights marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma churches across Texas are lifting their voices in remembrance and renewed resolve.
The violent assault on nonviolent demonstrators that day shocked the conscience of the nation and helped accelerate passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Sixty-one years later, faith leaders say the commemoration is not simply about history, but about responsibility. In sanctuaries from Beaumont to Dallas to Houston, congregations are turning to music as both moral memory and mandate.
At the center of this effort is Just Like Selma, a new social justice hymn written by award-winning composer and faith leader Nolan Williams Jr.. The anthem connects the courage of 1965 to today’s renewed conversations around voting rights, civic participation and moral leadership. Rooted in the sound and spirit of the civil-rights church, the hymn draws on the tradition of 1960s freedom songs, pairing sweeping choral arrangements with congregational refrains that call communities to reflect, engage and protect hard-won freedoms.
The song anchors the national Just Like Selma Campaign, a 100-day civic engagement initiative inviting churches in 100 cities across at least 11 denominations to form what organizers describe as a “100-city chorus for voting rights.” The campaign builds on the historic role of the Black church as a center of education, advocacy and spiritual grounding during pivotal moments in American history.
Texas congregations are among those answering the call. Participating churches include House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church in Beaumont; the South Dallas Concert Choir and St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas; Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston; and The Luke Church in Humble. Through hymn-sings, civic-centered services and community dialogues, these faith communities are using music as both remembrance and mobilization affirming that the bridge from Selma stretches far beyond Alabama and into neighborhoods across the Lone Star State.
At the heart of the initiative is a comprehensive worship and civic-engagement toolkit designed for congregations nationwide. Participating churches receive sheet music and choral arrangements of Just Like Selma, sermon prompts rooted in civil-rights history, educational materials connecting the 1965 march to present-day civic issues, and guidance for hosting voter education conversations and community forums. The effort is intentionally interdenominational, anchored in Black Baptist, AME, CME and COGIC traditions while welcoming congregations of all backgrounds committed to justice and democratic participation.
For Williams, the project reflects the enduring power of sacred music in public life. “Just Like Selma reminds us that the work of Selma is not finished. Music has always galvanized communities in moments of moral clarity,” he said. “That is why we are inviting congregations and civic organizations nationwide to join us in this special hymn-sing project.”
In 1965, freedom songs fortified marchers crossing the bridge in Selma. In 2026, as Texas churches commemorate the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Just Like Selma seeks to fortify a new generation facing contemporary civic challenges. The question, organizers say, is not only how the nation remembers, but how it responds.
