People from across the country gather in small Hayneville each August to honor Alabama Civil Rights martyr Jonathan Myrick Daniels.

This summer will mark 50 years since Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian, was shot and killed for no reason other than supporting his brothers and sisters in their struggle for equality.

The pilgrims come from all walks of life — men, women and children, black and white, young and old, locals and travelers far from home.

The pilgrims come to recognize, remember and reflect on Daniels’ sacrifice and that of others who died during the Civil Rights Movement.

In March 1965, Daniels, a 26-year-old from New Hampshire, answered the call from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for students and clergy to come to Selma to take part in the voting rights march to Montgomery.

Daniels came back to Alabama in July, where he worked to register voters, tutor students and help the poor anyway he could.

A few weeks later, on Aug. 20, 1965, Daniels, Catholic priest Richard Morrisroe and 20 other protestors had just been released from a six-day stay in the Lowndes County Jail after picketing a whites-only store in Fort Deposit.

Daniels and Morrisroe walked with two black teenage girls to nearby Varner’s Cash Store to buy cold drinks for the group. The four were met at the store’s entrance by shotgun wielding volunteer sheriff’s deputy Tom L. Coleman. He threatened the group and pointed his shotgun at 16-year-old Ruby Sales.

Daniels pushed Ruby to the ground, taking a full shotgun blast to the chest and stomach. Morrisroe grabbed the other girl, Joyce Bailey, and ran, but he too was gunned down in the lower back.

Morrisroe survived after an 11-hour surgery in Montgomery. Daniels died instantly.

A couple of things have stayed with me in the four months since this year’s pilgrimage.

First, I’ll never forget the few minutes I had with Morrisroe, who recounted that hot August afternoon almost like it was yesterday. Morrisroe left the priesthood a few years after the shooting.

He lives in Illinois with his wife Sylvia and two children, Siobhan and Jonathan, named in honor of Daniels.

But it also stuck with me about how many young people who I spoke with had never heard of Daniels or other Civil Rights martyrs. We have a great opportunity this spring to help young people understand the sacrifices made in Selma, Marion, Birmingham and elsewhere.

The National Park Service is working on a lecture series that will focus on the march.

That event will focus on martyrs and will be held  Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery.

They will also sponsor a weeklong walking classroom to teach young people about the march and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.