On a Sunday, September 15, 1963, 16th Street Baptist Church, an African American church in Birmingham, AL was bombed by white supremacist terrorism which killed four African American young girls –Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins all 14 years old and Denise McNair 11 years old. So long ago, still so mind boggling that someone had that much hatred. Many haters still live and sit in churches today as followers of Christ. The Southern Poverty Law Center documented 1,020 active hate groups in the United States in 2018. (https://www.splcenter.org/)
During his eulogy for the four girls, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the attack “one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetuated against humanity.” Since that time there have been many many more vicious and tragic hate crimes committed by white supremacist terrorism. Dr. King would certainly be shocked as many Americans are today. When will it end?
The bombing happened in 1963, however, it wasn’t until 1977 that one of the Klansmen was bought to trail by the state attorney general and convicted. In the mid-1990s two others were convicted by federal prosecutors. The fourth Klansman died before being charged. It was a difficult case to prosecute because then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover blocked prosecution of the case, and the FBI failed to turn over thousands of files to prosecutors, including surveillance tapes. The Klansmen hoped that the bombing would slow down or stop the Civil Rights Movement. However, it had the opposite impact because the killings of those young girls angered the nation and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act 10 months after the bombing.
There is a monument that stands across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church named Four Spirits with an inscription that reads “A Love that Forgives”. That was to be the title of the pastor’s sermon the day of the bombing.
The editors of the Southern Poverty Law Center suggest that we reflect on some of the words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s eulogy for the four girls which is below:.
“[T]his afternoon, in a real sense [the four girls] have something to say to each of us in their death. They have something to say to every minister of the gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows.
“They have something to say to every politician who has fed his constituents with the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism. … They say to each of us, black and white alike, that we must substitute courage for caution. They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.”
After graduating from high school May 1964, this writer went to Montgomery, AL for a physical to become enlisted in the U. S. Air Force. I was frightened because of the bombings that had taken place there previously. Four African American Churches were bombed in one day, January 10, 1957. This was during the Jim Crow Era. The white girls were taken to a hotel to stay while there for the physical whereas I was taken to a boarding house which was next door to a church that had been bombed. Needless to say, I was scared out of my wits. Those bombings affected the lives of many African Americans in very negative fearful ways. Today the bombings and mass shootings are having the same affect. Many feel it is ludicrous to feel that it will interfere with our 2nd Amendment Rights to ban assault weapons.
The fear of and resentment of America growing in diversity seem to be the root of the rise of hatred. It has risen its ugly head in places like Charlottesville, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Poway, California, El Paso, Texas, Orlando, Florida, to name a few.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. To commemorate the 56th year of the bombings of the 16th Street Baptist Church, it published that:
We must reject those who continue to traffic in fear, hate and violence – and work together to bring in hope, equality and true justice.
