An initiative spearheaded by Selma City Councilwoman Susan Youngblood will come to life for the first time Friday morning as tourists take part in a history-revealing ride from Selma to Montgomery.

“I could not believe it had not been done before,” Youngblood said. “Selma’s greatest assets are its natural resources and its history. That’s all we’ve got to sell right now.”

The initiative, known as “Retracing the Journey,” has been in the works for years and is the result of a partnership between the cities of Selma, White Hall, Hayneville and Montgomery.

Visitors taking part in the journey will meet at the Selma Interpretive Center and watch a short film and hear a presentation from a 1965 Voting Rights March foot soldier before walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

“Their stories need to be told,” Youngblood said of the foot soldiers, whose numbers are steadily dwindling. “If their stories aren’t told, and if they don’t tell those stories, people won’t ever have the opportunity to hear them again.”

Once over the bridge, participants will board a bus and receive a guided tour of prayer stops along the Historic Civil Rights Trail before visiting the Lowndes County Interpretive Center and enjoying a catered lunch.

Between the interpretive center and Montgomery, riders will visit additional prayer stops and see the memorial marker for Viola Liuzzo, the white civil rights activist killed by the Ku Klux Klan while shuttling protestors between Montgomery and Selma.

Once in Montgomery, travelers will visit the capital and hear a brief presentation before heading back to Selma, where they will be able to ask questions and reflect on the journey during the return trip.

Upon returning to Selma, each pilgrim will receive an “I Traced the Journey” certificate.

The idea is for the journey to become a “self-sustaining attraction,” according to Youngblood’s vision and for additional stops to be added as the tourist offering gains traction with Selma visitors.

Youngblood said the idea struck her after having veterans of the 1965 Voting Rights March speak to visitors to Selma.

“The effect that it had on them was so profound,” Youngblood said. “They wanted to know so much more. People need the opportunity to experience that.”

With the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee just days away, Youngblood noted how so many national figures visited the city during the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday but left nothing behind.

“Of all the stars and people that came, what did we get from it?” Youngblood said. “Nothing. They’re using us up.”