R.B. Hudson High School was Selma's first public high school for African-Americans. Completed in 1949, it was named for Richard Byron Hudson, a black educator who served for 41 years as principal of Clark Elementary School, Selma's first elementary school for African-American children. From 1963 to 1965, students from the school and surrounding county schools played a vital role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by actively participating in Civil Rights demonstrations that helped advance and secure that legislation. After integration in 1970, the school was renamed West Junior High School. In 2000, its name changed to Chatt Academy. On May 10, 2012, R.B. Hudson's name was reestablished, and the school became known as R.B. Hudson Middle School. It is listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.