16th Street Church Bombing of 1963
By: Lydia Dages
What caused the bombing and when did it happen?
On the Sunday morning of September 15 of the year 1963, the 16th street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed by the destructive Ku Klux Klan.
Who did it involve?
On that terrible Lord's day, four girls were killed. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carol Robertson, and and Cynthia Wesley all came to church that day dressed like princesses in their best Sunday dresses, excited to tell each other about their first days of school. When they where in the basement ladies room eagerly talking to each other, they where bombed and had no way of knowing nor escaping. They were killed that day and their grieving families were left without their daughters. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at three of the girls funerals, about life being "as hard as crucible steel." At that funeral white strangers visited the families to express their sorrows and to grieve with them at the lost of their children.
Pictures of the 16th Street Bombing
We Will Never Forget This Day
That day showed many people how ruthless and dangerous the Ku Klux Klan were. White people have no idea what it was like to be an African American person during the 1930's to the 1960's. Life was hard, but they made it through. Disasters happened all the time and they had to adapt, but this disaster that happened on 16th street on September 15th, 1963 will stay with those families and in the hearts of many for years and years to come.
Four Girls
These are the four girls killed in the bombing. Top left: Addie Mae Collins; top right: Carole Robertson; bottom left: Cynthia Wesley; bottom right: Denise McNair.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at three of the girls funerals. He was an inspiration to all of them and especially the family, during that hard time.
Afterwards
People flooded the churches after that tragic bombing, for the girls funerals, to support the family, and to show that they weren't going to let that stop them from worshipping their heavenly Father. Because he would bring them through their misery and take them to a better place where the sun is always shinning, for the blacks and for the whites. No more troubles or sorrows. Just happiness for eternity.