On the 50th anniversary of the iconic march that forever gave Selma an iconic but bloody place in civil rights history, the Alabama town still has a long way to go in the way of economic development, NBC News reported. While the majority of voters and business owners in the city are black, the city remains mired in economic doldrums, with 40 percent of its students below the poverty line and an unemployment rate nearly double the state average. But the city's defenders point to its civic advances, particularly its history of black leaders. "You've got most of the governmental positions held by African-Americans, which is a good thing," said Selma-Dallas County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Wayne Vardaman. "We've made progress, but nobody talks about that."
