Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Bloody Sunday’s Youngest Marcher, Dies In Selma At 75

Dr. Lynda Blackmon Lowery, the youngest Bloody Sunday marcher, passed away in Selma at age 75.

Dr. Lynda Blackmon Lowery, widely recognized as the youngest person to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during Bloody Sunday, died in Selma on Dec. 24 at the age of 75.

Lowery’s daughter, Danita Blackmon, confirmed her death but did not disclose a cause, The New York Times reported. Selma honored her legacy with two days of funeral events, including a public viewing on Dec. 29 and a celebration of life on Dec. 30.

A nationally revered civil rights icon and Selma foot soldier, Dr. Lowery was a key figure in the Selma Voting Rights Movement. She vowed as a child to fight for civil rights after witnessing the trauma her family endured when her mother died from childbirth complications, having been denied a blood transfusion due to her race.

“So, I made a vow at the age of seven that when I got big, I was going to change things. And nobody would ever have to grow up without a mother again because of the color of skin,” Lowery said in 2024.

After her mother’s death, Dr. Lowery drew strength from her grandmother, who introduced her to activism and took her to see Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak in 1963. Her activism began with high school sit-ins alongside fellow students. By age 14, she had marched for justice, been jailed nine times, and was beaten on Bloody Sunday in 1965 while turning 15. Historians credit those marches with helping spur the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

She later spent 27 years as a mental health professional before sharing her story in her acclaimed 2015 memoir, Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom, which became a widely used teaching tool and stage production. In her later years, she continued educating new generations, witnessed her legacy honored through Selma’s Foot Soldiers Park, and offered guidance to Black youth facing racism.

“I still tell them to believe in themselves, because there’s nobody greater walking this earth than you right now. Believe in who you are, and even though all those bricks and stones are going to be thrown at you, be still and believe in you,” Lowery said. “You direct you. And the more you direct you, the more everybody’s going to see the beauty inside you. You are important to yourself. If you like yourself, you love yourself. Ain’t nobody gonna take that from you.”