A Teen Reenactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act Passage will be held at Selma High School Auditorium on Thursday morning.

The program is entitled, “A lifetime of voting in a democracy.” The Selma Chapter of The Links, Inc., Historic Brown Chapel AME Church Preservation Society, Inc., One Selma and the Selma High School System are sponsoring the event, which starts at 9 a.m.

Local schools scheduled to participate in the event are students from Selma High, Dallas County High, Southside High, Keith High, Meadowview Christian School (MCS) and Ellwood Christian Academy (ECA).

Juanda Maxwell, Chairman and writer of the event, said the program’s purpose is to educate teenagers about voting. Questions about the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution will be asked to the students before and after the event.

“This is a forum designed to encourage, expose and promote young Selma and Dallas County seniors in high school to learn about the voting process and why voting should become a lifelong commitment,” Maxwell said.

Reenactment characters will include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., former U.S. Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Abraham Lincoln, Coretta Scott King as well as Selma Civil Rights Historians Rev. F.D. Reese, Rev. L.L. Anderson, J.L. Chestnut, Marie Foster and Amelia Boynton.

Several local Pastors and 15 students will be playing various roles. Rev. Daniel Martin, Rev. Cory Horton, Rev. John Grayson and Rev. Steve Burton are among the local pastors participating.

“We are going to showcase some of the characters, both white and black, that helped change a nation into a true democracy,” Maxwell said. “We will teach through reenactment the importance of the Constitution and its role. We will reenact the role Selma played in the voting rights act.”

Felecia Owens and Nancy Sewell are co-chairpersons of the event. Dorothy Barnes is President of the Links’ Selma Chapter. Veronica Pitts is the consultant.

The Selma High choir will also sing during the event.