During her lifetime, JoAnne Bland has been a witness and participant in some of our nation’s most consequential civil rights battles. She began her civil rights activism in the early 1960s. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activists organized Bland and other area children and teenagers to participate in the civil rights movement. In the front lines of the struggle, the young Bland marched on "Bloody Sunday" and "Turn Around Tuesday," and the first leg of the successful March from Selma to Montgomery, witnessing brutal beatings of fellow marchers by police. The young Bland was also one of seven Black students to integrate A. G. Parish High School. By the time she was 11 years old Bland had been arrested 13 times. Ms. Bland’s early involvement in the struggle against “Jim Crow” has been the foundation for her civil and human rights work throughout her life. She’s a much sought after speaker with a compelling personal story of civil rights activism, and has spoken around the country. Currently, Ms. Bland is the owner and operator of Journeys For The Soul, a touring agency that specializes in Civil Rights tours with a major focus on Selma, Alabama.

@ facebook.com/journeysforthesoul
https://www.iamjoannebland.com/