Purchase with a Purpose
Culverhouse's Partnership to Revitalize Selma
In the heart of Selma, a city rich with history and resilience, a new chapter is unfolding with the recent grand opening of Selma Roots. Founded by Betty Oldroyd, Selma Roots is a testament to the power of collaboration and community spirit.
Betty Oldroyd’s dedication to Selma has been unwavering. Her vision for Selma Roots stemmed from a deep desire to create a hub that would not only provide essential goods but also serve as a beacon of community support and resilience.
"The slogan is ‘old roots, new branches,’ so even with people they come in and we show them how they can do things. We pull their talents out by redoing furniture, and it just makes them grow," Oldroyd explained.
The opening of Selma Roots marks a significant milestone for the city. It is more than a store; it is a community center where residents can access essential goods, resources, and support.
The Culverhouse College of Business and The University of Alabama are also actors in this story. UA faculty, staff, and students played a pivotal role in the opening of Selma Roots.
Lisa McKinney, senior instructor of accounting at Culverhouse, alongside her students helped manage the financials and logistics of the project. Their expertise ensured that Selma Roots operates efficiently and sustainably, providing a solid foundation for its continued success.
On the creative side, with assistance from his students, Steven McKinney, assistant professor of clothing, textiles, and interior design in UA’s College of Human and Environmental Sciences (no relation to Lisa McKinney), brought life to the store’s design and online presence. Their contributions have not only made Selma Roots welcoming but also accessible to a broader audience through a well-designed website.
However, their work is just one aspect of a more focused effort by UA to help the Selma community rebound from recent — and some longer term — challenges.
Pastor John E. Grayson of Gospel Tabernacle Church emphasized the crucial role such initiatives play in fostering healing and restoration, reflecting on the community’s recovery from a devastating tornado that tore through the town in January 2023.
“Your kids from UA were a big blessing. They helped with filling out paperwork, getting homes repaired, and even finding other resources in the community,” he shared. “Having the University of Alabama involved in Selma is big. That says a lot for the university and the people who run it.”
Former Dallas County district court judge Bob Armstrong, a proud alumnus of The University of Alabama, and current chief executive officer of the Dallas County System of Services, recognized the profound impact of the initiative on students.
“One of the things that we'll do is tenderize their hearts. It’ll make them more compassionate. It’ll make them kinder,” he said at the Selma Roots grand opening.
His statement reflects a deeper aim of the project: to instill lasting values of empathy and kindness in the students involved, shaping them into more thoughtful and caring individuals while addressing immediate community needs.
The Culverhouse College of Business, through its partnership and dedication, has helped lay the foundation for this new chapter in Selma’s history, demonstrating that when we come together, we can achieve remarkable things.
