The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) mourns the loss of Jo Ann Bland, a fearless civil rights leader, educator, and lifelong champion of voting rights whose unwavering commitment to advancing equality and justice in Selma, Alabama reverberated across the country. Ms. Bland passed away at 72 years old on Feb. 19, 2026.
LDF President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Ms. Bland and send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. One of the youngest foot soldiers in the Selma movement, Ms. Bland demonstrated extraordinary courage in the face of violence and intimidation in her hometown. Ms. Bland continued to carry that courage forward throughout her life by preserving the history of the movement through her leadership at the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and in her tireless efforts to educate future generations. Ms. Bland’s life embodies bravery, truth-telling, and a steadfast belief in history as both a pathway to honoring the past and guiding us towards a better future.
“Her voice carried the history of Bloody Sunday and the enduring significance of Selma into classrooms, communities, and civic spaces across this country. We are profoundly grateful for her leadership and her love for her community, and her legacy will continue to be felt for generations to come.”
Born and raised in Selma, Ms. Bland made history at just eleven years old as one of the youngest participants in the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. Ms. Bland went on integrate her local high school along with six other students before attending college in New York and serving in the U.S. Army.
After completing her service, Ms. Bland returned to Selma, where in 1989 she co-founded the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, a museum and cultural site that honors and preserves the history of the city’s historic struggle for voting rights. Ms. Bland also established “Journeys for the Soul,” a tour company that brought people from around the world to Selma to learn firsthand about the lived experiences of foot soldiers. In 2021, Ms. Bland co-founded the Foot Soldiers Park and Education Center to further preserve Selma’s civil rights history.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF’s archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.
