Stone Lecture to explore civil rights and the Jews of Selma, Alabama

Dr. Amy K. Milligan will present the 2025 Stone Lecture in Judaism at Augustana, “Navigating History: Civil Rights and the Jews of Selma, Alabama,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in the Olin Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dr. Milligan is the Batten Endowed Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies as well as the director of the Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding at Old Dominion University.

Selma, Alabama, is an internationally known icon because of the Civil Rights Movement. The confrontation that occurred was between Black and white citizens. Although segregated, both communities were Christian; but where did the city’s substantial Jewish community stand?

Dr. Milligan’s work explores the history of Jewish life in Selma, Alabama, problematizing the assumption that Jewish Selmians experienced the marches and Bloody Sunday in the same way as other citizens.

Through ethnography and oral history, Dr. Milligan captures the narratives retold by the community, explores a complex and nuanced history, and probes the question of how memory and legacy can be molded and shaped through truth telling for communities with troublesome histories, offering a story much larger than that of a single synagogue.

The Stone Lectureship was established in 1983 by friends of Dr. Alex and Martha Stone, who were longtime residents of Rock Island. The lectureship supports speakers and materials that increase awareness of the cultural and historical contributions of Judaism to the traditions of Western Culture.

For further information, please visit www.augustana.edu/judaism-center or contact Jewish Center co-chairs Dr. David Schwartz at davidschwartz@augustana.edu or Dr. M. Wolff at mwolff@augustana.edu.