On Friday, The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation (SCNTR) featured a showing of the documentary “Doyle” at their Black History Beloved Community Dinner.

The documentary tells the story of Ernest L. Doyle, a member of the “Courageous Eight” which is the steering committee that continued to meet and plan the Selma movement.

The filmmaker William Waheed said he felt the impact of Doyle’s actions in the people that he met while working on the film.

“There is a message for all of us in this film to bring about a more just and fair system,” Waheed said. “He never got recognition for his work in the civil rights movement. It speaks for his selfless nature. He was not trying to make a name for himself. He was an invisible giant.”

Waheed said he refers to Doyle as an invisible giant because of how “his significant works for racial advancement have been overlooked through the years due to lost documentation, forgotten history, intimidation tactics and complications.”

It is important also that the youth that attended the dinner were able to learn about Doyle, who is an important part of their life as well.

Doyle’s sacrifices and hard work have impacted generations to come, and we applaud the SCNTR for sharing this story with youth that has not yet heard his story.

Doyle had a rich and impactful life in Selma. He was the first African-American councilman in the city’s history. Doyle also served as NAACP president for 15 years from 1965 to 1980, a time period where Wofford says the NAACP experienced “unprecedented changes” for the better. They also say in 1955, he was the first one jailed for petitioning the desegregation of schools.

Despite this, it is nearly impossible to find any local Selma records of him, according to Waheed.