This is a guest opinion column

Selma, Alabama, occupies a unique place in U.S. history as the site of the pivotal civil rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965—an event forever remembered as “Bloody Sunday.” Each year, thousands gather for “The Jubilee” to honor the struggles and victories of the civil rights movement. While this annual commemoration is rooted in a painful chapter of history, it also presents a powerful opportunity to leverage the city’s historical significance to build industries like tourism and drive regional economic development.

The pilgrimage to Selma not only pays tribute to leaders such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis but also highlights the transformative legislative victories that followed Bloody Sunday, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Yet, the true measure of success lies in translating this legacy into tangible benefits for residents today. This moment offers Selma the chance to build on its history to create a stronger, more equitable future.

Jubilee is more than a time for reflection—it is a platform to reimagine Selma as a destination for tourism, education, and economic revitalization. With global attention on Selma’s role in the civil rights movement and the annual influx of visitors, the city has a foundation to develop businesses, cultural institutions, and hospitality ventures that can strengthen its economy. By partnering with state and regional agencies and embracing its historical prominence, Selma can uplift its community, stimulate regional growth, and serve as a model for other cities seeking to turn their history into a catalyst for economic progress.

Recent federal investments have provided Selma with critical support, laying a foundation for growth. In 2024, Selma received $1.7 million to revitalize roads and sidewalks across 12 downtown blocks, enhancing walkability and increasing foot traffic for local businesses. The Alabama riverfront, another major asset, benefited from a $9 million project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stabilize the riverbed, reducing erosion and flood risks for both residents and businesses. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $2.4 million in 2023 to renovate the Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority for remote air traffic control training, a project expected to create over 100 jobs and attract further investment. Meanwhile, the Selma Interpretive Center, a key part of the Selma-to-Montgomery Historic Trail, is undergoing a $20 million renovation through the National Parks Service to boost tourism and regional interest.

If Selma can rise, so too can other small cities across the country.

Underinvestment and disinvestment in small cities stem from factors such as racial discrimination, depopulation, and a lack of recognition of their importance to regional growth. Cities like Selma face all these challenges. Cycles of disinvestment create a “chicken-and-egg” dilemma: investment is easier to attract when a city already has a strong economic foundation but building that foundation without initial investment is a major hurdle. With limited outside funding, residents are often left to rely on investing in and building upon the assets they have—historic buildings, community pride, and strategic locations—to drive economic growth.

But ensuring that local community development and regional economic development are not at odds with growth underscores an essential policy shift that more places around the country must consider: prosperity is shared across regions when investments are made in the underappreciated assets including entrepreneurs, the role smaller communities can play in the industrial policy and historic Black institutions.

The Center for Community Uplift at Brookings is examining how a focus on well-being can drive the cooperation and wealth creation needed for all communities to thrive. By challenging the zero-sum thinking that investments in one group come at the expense of another, this approach seeks to foster shared prosperity. “Well-being” encompasses the social, economic, and political factors that shape our overall quality of life.

A recent analysis by the Center illustrates the correlation between the well-being of Black and white individuals in cities across the nation. The data reveals a positive relationship: as the well-being of Black individuals improves, so does that of their white counterparts. This clear alignment underscores that their outcomes are interconnected, not in conflict, and highlights the potential for collaborative investment to uplift entire communities.

To be clear, we must break a mental model that historically had us to believe that people of different races are at odds and that investments in one group takes away from another. This scarcity mindset is precisely what led to disparate outcomes and social discord in the first place and restricts our thinking on how we collectively can grow the proverbial pie.

Local and regional business leaders must collaborate to grow that pie by viewing investments in Selma and other small cities as part of a broader regional economic development strategy. With a job shortage of approximately 7,000, Selma’s residents need opportunities to build a future in their hometown. The revitalized downtown area and riverfront have the potential to become a bustling commercial corridor linked to a historic trail, creating jobs and attracting visitors. Positioned just an hour from Alabama’s capital, Selma could become both a popular day-trip destination and a thriving place to call home—if local and state leaders seize the opportunity to invest in its continued growth.

Investing in places like Selma is not an act of charity but a strategic imperative to ensure that all communities can contribute to and benefit from shared economic progress. Failing to invest in small towns like Selma is not just a moral issue—it is holding back broader economic growth and prosperity. Concentrating growth in a handful big cities stifles the potential for a more dynamic economy. Cutting our noses to spite our faces is a failed economic strategy.

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Andre M. Perry is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the forthcoming book, Black Power Scorecard.

Lyneir Richardson is an assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School and is the executive director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers.