REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- James Perkins Jr. -- one of Alabama's most influential elected leaders whose work for civil rights and equality heralds back to the 1960s -- will speak at Team Redstone's observance of Martin Luther King Day. The observance is set for Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. in the Sparkman Center's Bob Jones Auditorium. All Team Redstone employees are invited to this observance.
Perkins, a native of Selma, became that city's first black mayor, serving in the position for two terms from 2000 to 2008. In winning the election in 2000, Perkins ousted long-time mayor Joe Smitherman, who was also the mayor on March 7, 1965, when blacks were stopped from crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge by Selma police and Alabama state troopers during their march from Selma to the steps of the state capitol. On that day, authorities assaulted marchers in an incident that has become known as "Bloody Sunday." The incident was a major catalyst leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Perkins is an activist who championed the causes of voting rights in the 1960s; desegregation in the 1970s; technology education disparity in the 1990s; and illegal gun control, education quality and disparity, environmental injustice and voter participation in the 2000s. During his time as Selma's mayor, Perkins also served as president of the National Conference of Black Mayors, director of the National League of Cities Board and vice president for trade of the World Conference of Mayors, which collaborates with mayors in the Caribbean and Africa.
Perkins is pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Selma, and an entrepreneur who started a business with $50 and grew it to more than $1 million in annual sales. As a consultant, he provides technical assistance in areas of managerial and organizational problem isolation and solution development. As a public speaker, he has spoken all across the nation to diverse audiences form military personnel at Fort Knox, Ky., to juvenile detainees in Omaha, Nebraska. As a teacher, he has taught mathematics and computer science at Selma University.
He and his wife, Cynthia, a parent facilitator with the Selma City School System, have raised four children. While they were growing up, Perkins served as a PTO president, coached sport teams and mentored many children who were not his own.
"For all successes, accolades and advancements, I say, 'To God be the glory.' My daily goals are to put God first and just treat people right. This is who I am and this is how I try to live my life," Perkins said.
Perkins is a graduate of Alabama A&M University and has completed numerous graduate courses in Business Administration at Auburn University at Montgomery. He is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham, Leadership Selma and Leadership Alabama.
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