Sofa Bed Used by the Jackson Family, Selma, Alabama

THF806780 / Sofa Bed Used by the Jackson Family, Selma, Alabama
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Artifact Overview

In 2023, The Henry Ford acquired the Selma, Alabama, home of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson, where Dr. Martin Luther King and Civil Rights leaders planned the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights marches. The Jackson Home opened in Greenfield Village in 2026. The home and its contents not only document the voting rights struggle but also shed light on 20th-century Black American middle-class life.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Couch (Reclining furniture)

Date Made

1950-1960

Object ID

2023.50.1968

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Imitation leather
Felt paper
Metal
Cotton (Fiber)

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 33 in
Width: 74.5 in
Length: 36.25 in

Inscriptions

tag on pullout end: Hide-A-Bed / Sofas and Love Setas / [...] / [...] only by / Simmons Company attached tag: A 10488 / Rey / 5648 Q Red / [descriptive text] / 100% layer felt / consisting of / 75% linter cotton felt and 25% white picker / [descriptive text] / Simmons Company / License No. 3 / Atlanta, Georgia.
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    Dr. Sullivan & Mrs. Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson Home

    The home of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson, originally located in Selma, Alabama, is a Civil Rights Movement landmark. The home served as a refuge where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders worked, collaborated, strategized, and planned the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches. These marches led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965.