Congresswoman Terri Sewell unveils plaque naming the Marion, Alabama U. S. Post Office for Albert Turner Sr.and Dedication Ceremony held at Perry County Courthouse lawn across the street form the Post Office.

Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher

It is not often that a public building in the Alabama Black Belt is named for a legendary civil rights leader, but it happened last Friday, February 28, 2025, in Marion, Alabama, the county seat of Perry County. This happened because Congresswoman Terri Sewell passed legislation through both houses of Congress and had Public Law 118-245 signed by President Biden in January 2025, before he left office.
Friday was a bright sunny day and all 250 chairs on the lawn of the Perry County Courthouse were filled with family members, post office and political officials, and residents of Perry County and other Alabama counties who remembered the work and service of Albert Turner Sr. There were additional people standing at the fringes of the crowd. The ceremony was held across the street from the Marion Post Office which will bare Turner’s name.
Albert Turner Sr. was born in 1936, educated in Perry County Schools, including Lincoln Normal High School. He graduated from Alabama A&M University with a degree in history and mechanical arts. Turner founded the Perry County Civic League in 1963, a local organization advocating for civil and human rights. In 1965, Turner joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became Alabama State Director for Dr. Martin Luther King’s organization.
Albert Turner was involved in the Perry County protests in February 1965 which resulted in the shooting death of Jimmie Lee Jackson by a State Trooper. Turner was among Black leaders who wanted to carry Jackson’s body to the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery, which was Governor George Wallace’s office, to dramatize the need for civil and voting rights in Alabama. Turner was a leader of the Selma to Montgomery March on Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when the marchers were stopped and beaten by State Troopers and local sheriff’s deputies. Turner was a leader of the march that was approved by Federal courts, later in March, which led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Albert Turner worked as the Manager of the Southwest Alabama Farmers Cooperative (SWAFCA) in Selma, in the later 1960’s and 1970’s which helped provide markets for cucumbers, okra, greens and other products grown by Black farmers in the western Alabama Black Belt. He also pioneered the production of ‘gasohol”, an alternative fuel made from agricultural wastes. He drove his pickup truck to Washington, D. C. fueled by gasohol to dramatize the impact of renewable fuel sources.
Albert Turner kept registering, educating and mobilizing Black voters in Perry County, through the Perry County Civic League and was elected a County Commissioner in the 1980’s. In 1985, Turner, his wife, Evelyn, and Spencer Hogue were indicted on more than 200 Federal charges for absentee voting by Jeff Sessions, then a U. S. Attorney in the Southern District of Alabama.  With support from the community and pro bono lawyers, the “Perry County Three” were acquitted on all charges. This was the beginning of “right-wing” efforts to discourage Black voters in Alabama and across the nation from using the 1965 VRA to advance their rights.
Naming a U. S. Post Office for a “freedom fighter” like Albert Turner Sr., in the heart of the Alabama Black Belt, sends a message and keeps a spirit of freedom and justice alive in oppressed people.
April M. Williams, Manager of Community Affairs for the regional U. S. Post Office was Mistress of Ceremony. She and the other post officials in attendance, Black and white, said they were delighted and honored to participate in this dedication program.
Rev. Robert Turner Jr., a nephew of Albert, Pastor of the Hickory Grove Baptist Church and District Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit gave the invocation. The Marion Military Institute Color Guard and Band presented the colors and played the National Anthem. Gail Crews, Postmaster of the Marion Post Office, gave an opening welcome and said that Albert Turner, “lived his life well and served the people of Perry County.”
Greetings were offered by Barbara Howze, Perry County Commissioner District 4, Senator Bobby Singleton, Minority Leader of the Alabama Senate who said, “ Albert Turner was an awesome leader of the greatest movement for change in our history. He helped and nurtured young Black leaders like myself.” Senator Robert Stewart of District 23 praised Turner for being ”an architect of the Civil Rights Movement and opening a corridor for justice and freedom from Perry County to Selma to Montgomery. He was a drum major and advocate for Black people that has stretched through generations.”
Joanna Turner Drury, one of Turner’s younger sisters spoke in a more personal way about Albert’s role in the family and his guidance to her in the right direction in high school and later in college.
Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL7), who introduced and shepparded the naming legislation through Congress was the keynote speaker. She praised Albert Turner Sr. work as a grassroots community leader in the civil and voting rights movement. “ I stand on the shoulders of Albert Turner and many other foot soldiers to celebrate Black history, as a p-art of American history,” she said. Sewell also praised the sacrifices of Turner’s family, who allowed him to serve the community and people of the state of Alabama.
The Congresswoman, with help from Turner’s family unveiled the plaque that will be placed at the doors of the Marion Post Office, which reads “ This building is named in honor of Albert Turner Sr. by an Act of Congress, Public Law 118-245, January 4, 2025.”
Congresswoman Sewell ended her remarks by saying, “We have all lived through the past five weeks of chaos, under the Trump Administration. It has been a time of whiplash. But we must continue, with God’s will, to strive and thrive through the chaos. Every one of us has a part of Albert Turner in us. We all have a voice and vote. We must continue to work and fight for the future and the coming generations of our people. This is a collective struggle based on the contributions of all of us and we cannot forget or fail to live out that legacy.”
Representatives of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, who were dressed in complimentary blue suits presented a proclamation to honor Turner, who was a member of the fraternity.
Albert Turner Jr., Perry County Commissioner and Evelyn Turner, wife of Albert Turner Sr. rounded out the program with thank-yous and gratitude to all participants. Mrs. Turner introduced her first great-grand child, Bari Jade Turner, the daughter of Barrette Turner II, grandson of Albert Turner Sr. ”She must continue the legacy,” said Mrs. Turner.