The update on the Boynton Street Historic Area surveying was unveiled Monday at Selma City Hall.

The city hired David Schneider of the Schneider Historic Preservation LLC to do the survey on the area formerly known as Lapsley Street. It was renamed Boynton Street in honor of Amelia Boynton Robinson and Samuel Boynton, two Civil Rights historians. 

The grant only covers Boynton Avenue from the railroad tracks to First Avenue. The city paid Schneider $7,800 for the work.

“You were hired to do a job and we expect the outcome … whatever it is,” City Councilwoman Angela Benjamin said. “We have an expectation.”

Schneider admits he’s still got work to do.

“I’m going to photograph, document and do more research,” Schneider said. “I’ll see what else needs to be done.”

The survey’s purpose is to get the Boynton Street area placed on the national historic registry. Boynton-Robinson played a big part in the Civil Rights movement and was the first African-American woman to run for Congress. A member of the Courageous Eight, she was one of the first African-Americans registered to vote in Alabama.

Two years after her husband’s death, she participated in the historic Selma to Montgomery march, and was one of several marchers beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  In 2015, she also crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Boynton-Robinson, who died in 2015 at the age of 104, helped get the Voting Rights Act passed into law on Aug. 6, 1965.

Several Selma residents disagreed with the Boynton Street survey because the entire city is not included.

“We have so much history here,” said Betty Boynton, Boynton-Robinson’s daughter-in-law. “You’ve got the first black hospital and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. There’s so much to process.”

“The city of Selma is recognized as an iconic city for voting rights,” Black Heritage Council Chair Emeritus Louretta Wimberly said. “I want the story to be accurate.”

Dorothy Walker of the Black Heritage Council said having Selma listed as a national historical district is the ultimate goal, but finances are required. She estimates $50,000 to complete the entire city.

“We’ve got to find additional resources and it takes a lot to get done,” Walker said. “Right now, there’s not enough money.”