Marie Foster Street: Selma’s lesser known historic roadway

When you think about historic roads in Alabama, Selma’s Broad Street which crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge is one of the first to be recognized.

But there’s more history to Selma than Bloody Sunday on that bridge and it shows up in some way on nearly every street in the historic downtown district.

Marie Foster Street, located roughly eight blocks from Broad Street, is named after a woman crucial to the nation’s civil rights movement.

Keep reading to learn more about the street’s namesake + what you can still see along the road today.

Marie Foster

The Alabama native played a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement even before the events of Bloody Sunday.

Marie Foster was known as “The Mother of the Voting Rights Movement.” Much of her work was done in the Selma community until she died in the town in 2003.

Foster’s 1963 speech at the First Baptist Church in Selma is considered a pivotal moment in the town’s impact on the national movement.

Martin Luther King Jr. was reportedly at Foster’s home in Selma when he was told the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965.

Local legacy

Marie Foster Street is located east of Broad Street and the heart of downtown Selma.

The street has long been mainly a residential area which many people say is fitting for Marie Foster’s legacy as a member of the community.

The road runs for nearly three miles, intersecting with Highway 22 on the north side of town before ending at Water Avenue near the Alabama River.

Alabama roads

Our series has just started across all three brands but here’s what you may have missed!

• Don Mincher Drive in Huntsville
• Charles Barkley Court in Leeds
• Don Sutton Street in Clio
• Demeco Ryans Street in Bessemer

Have a street in your city you want us to highlight? Send us an email or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.