02/20/2026
In Sacred Memory of Ms. Jo Ann Bland
Child of the Movement - Keeper of the Flame
It is with profound sorrow, yet deep gratitude for a life well lived, that we acknowledge the passing of Ms. Jo Ann Bland, who passed on February 19, 2026, during this sacred season of our 100th celebration of Black History Month. It is not lost on me that a woman who made history would be called home while we are intentionally honoring it.
I had the distinct privilege of knowing Ms. Bland personally. I first welcomed her to Beck in 2015, during the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. That was the first time I heard her tell her story in her own voice. It was not simply a recounting of events; it was testimony. I sat, moved beyond words, undone by the courage of an eight-year-old child who stood on the frontlines of democracy.
Born and raised in Selma, Alabama, Ms. Bland was both witness and warrior in one of our nation’s most consequential moral struggles. As a young girl, she attended meetings of the Dallas County Voters League alongside her grandmother under the leadership of the great Amelia Boynton. By the age of eight, she had joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), determined to challenge the injustice of Jim Crow. By the time she was eleven, she had been arrested 13 documented times. She marched on Bloody Sunday in 1965, facing mounted troopers, tear gas, and billy clubs, all in pursuit of the right to vote.
Her early involvement in the Movement was not a chapter; it was the foundation and fuel for a lifetime of civil and human rights advocacy. She later integrated A.G. Parish High School, served in the United States Army, and returned home to Selma to ensure that the sacrifices of the foot soldiers would never be forgotten. As co-founder and longtime leader of the National Voting Rights Museum, founder of Foot Soldiers Park & Education Center, and visionary behind Journeys for the Soul, she transformed memory into movement. She guided visitors from across this nation and around the world through Selma’s sacred ground, connecting past struggle to present responsibility.
Seven years after her first visit to Beck, in 2022, we were blessed to host her again during our Annual Eighth of August Jubilee. Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Loki Mulholland premiered After Selma, featuring Ms. Bland’s powerful witness. Once again, her presence filled the room, not with celebrity, but with conviction. She did not merely recount history; she carried it in her spirit.
The last time I embraced her was this past summer at the Association of African American Museums Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. She served as a featured panelist. Afterward, we shared laughter, fellowship, and photographs, moments I will forever treasure. Even then, she was still working, still speaking, still pressing forward to ensure that those who made history would never be erased from it. Ms. Bland possessed an unapologetic strength. She was sincere in her authenticity, unwavering in her dedication, and relentless in demanding that America live up to its creed. She understood that memory, preservation, and truth-telling are sacred work.
While at Beck, we could never presume to leave the legacy she has etched into the soul of this nation, we aspire to do work that would make her proud. Her life challenges us not merely to commemorate history but to protect it. We will remember her, honor her, and we will continue the work.
On behalf of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center Staff and Board of Directors, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and to the Selma community she so faithfully served. We are grateful to have walked even a small portion of this journey alongside her. May we carry her courage forward.
With admiration, appreciation, and gratitude,
Rev. Reneé Kesler
On behalf of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center Board, Staff, and Volunteers
