Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The 59th annual Freedom Flame Awards banquet was filled with words of gratitude throughout the entire program held on March 2 at Selma High School Gymnasium.

“Our goal is to inspire people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to respect and appreciate people for the power of their vote,” said former State Senator Hank Sanders, one of the co-founders of Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

Melville Charitable Trust Fund President Susan Thomas and Charles Douglas III of Common Power discussed their vision of Selma, which included building more homes with a larger population.

“The view from up here is great, but the community down in Selma is what really brings us back to celebrate Jubilee every time,” Douglas said.

Life Academy, based in Montgomery, had a table at the banquet. Members in attendance said that being at the jubilee was important to them. Alexis Holley, Brittany Martin, Destiny Wilson, LaTonya Surls, La’Quita Redditt and Shaemenial Hinson belong to Life Academy.

Sponsors were Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Partnership for Equitable and Resilient Communities, Regions Bank, Black Voters Matter, American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Leadership Christian Conference Woke Vote, Bank of America, Common Power, National Voting rights Museum and Institute, Selma Center for Non Violence, Truth and Reconciliation, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Lawyers’ committee for Civil Rights Under Law, American Federation of Teachers, Wallace Community College – Selma, MasterCard, City of Selma, Legal Defense Fund, Chestnut Sanders and Sanders, LLC, Southern Poverty Law Center and Black Belt Community Foundation.