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By Travis Gupton

The Selma Times-Journal

Thursday night, Sturdivant Hall held its annual BBQ on the Green to help raise money for the maintenance of the building. Almost 400 tickets were sold for the event and officials said it was a successful night.

“It’s a gorgeous night,” Miah Tolbert said. “It’s an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous and amazing venue. The decor is beautiful as well. The overall experience and the friendly faces make it an overall amazing night.”

BBQ on the Green is one of the main ways that Sturdivant Hall receives funds to help keep its historic grandeur. Before all of that, it was in a rough state.

“It was in terrible ruin back in the 60’s,” Gloria Sims said. “What the people did was they had wonderful dances along with ballroom dances. They had famous people come and do things like Swing and Sway with Sammy K. All these people came in and restored it. They did fundraisers. We had to get grants as well. It was a big operation to save this from being torn down.”

This event was a long time coming for the members of Sturdivant Hall. Months of planning and preparing for the event all came together for a successful night.

“First thing we had to do was secure a date,” Larry Justice said. “ That way you’re not conflicting with everything. Thursday was the best night because Friday is football night, Saturday is football day and Sunday is Sunday. We try to do it on Thursday. That is our best night for a fundraiser. We secure our date then, we have a list of who we call, what all we need, how much we need and then we go from there.”

From the people in the audience the response was nothing but positive due to the fact that this BBQ helps keep these historic buildings and the city of Selma what it is.

“This is a great event,” Dallas County Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn said. “It is a good fundraiser for Sturdivant Hall. Not only does it bring in money to help with the maintenance of Sturdivant Hall. This event brings people together. There are different races and all different people from different places you will see tonight. It doesn’t matter what color you are. People are coming together and socializing.”

The BBQ on the Green is just one of the ways that the community comes together but there are more things like this that makes Selma a great place to live according to Michael Johnson, a former Dallas County High School standout and 10-year NFL veteran.

“If you venture outside of downtown Selma and see what Selma has to offer,” Johnson said.

“We have great hunting down here. People come from all over the country to go hunting down here. We have the Alabama and the Cahaba Rivers as well. We have great athletic programs down here.

“We have a lot of up-and-coming big-time athletes. We have a professional baseball player now in Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles). We have guys in high school that have committed to big-time power five programs and even more are coming up behind them. So I think we have a lot to offer as far as athletics. Selma has artists that paint and draw. They have art museums and pop up shops in Selma. We have so many possibilities in Selma.”

The possibilities along with buildings like Sturdivant Hall make the Queen city what it is. Events like BBQ on the Green help unite the community and preserve the history of the city. It is unknown at this time how much was raised for Sturdivant Hall last night, but the night overall was a success to those who attended.