HLA

Annie Hekl
B1
3-3-15
16 th Street Birmingham Church Bombing

One of the major events that fueled the Civil Rights Movement was the 16 th
Street Birmingham Church Bombing. In this tragic event four young innocent girls
were killed. They did nothing to deserve the bombing. All they were doing that
morning was getting ready for church. The story doesnt start there though. It all
started when President Truman signed an Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby
declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and
opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or
national origin."
Then, there are also many other acts that led up to the Civil Rights Movement. Including
a Supreme Court case that stated that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Then, the
murder of Emmett Till happened and it went to court it was the first court case that was actually
accusing the white man of doing wrong to a black. In the same year, 1955, an African American
woman, Rosa Parks, wouldnt give up her bus seat to a white man. This all sparked a new idea
in the United States. It was the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.
It was in the chaos of the Civil Rights movement, when something horrible happened in
Birmingham, Alabama. The 16th Street Church had been bombed. This wasnt just any old
church; the 16th street Birmingham church became a significant religious center for Civil Rights
organizers, like Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights marches started at the church. It was like a
safe house for the African Americans who believed in Civil Rights.
There also were bad people who were against the Civil Rights Movement and just
disliked African-American in general. One main group was the Klu Klux Klan or better known as
the KKK. The KKK was a group of white Americans that hated African Americans so much they
would kill them. Now, the KKK wore a white robes and cone-like hats. They were the ones who
bombed the 16th Street Birmingham Church.
On the faithful day, September 15, 1963, the Klu Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street
Birmingham Church. That day there was 200 church members were attending church and
Sunday school classes before 11a.m. service. Then at 10:22 a.m. a bomb was detonated on the
churches east side. The bomb destroyed most the whole side of the church. Luckily most were
evacuated out of the area at the time; except for four young girls.
The four girls died that day at the scene of the bombing. The three of the girls were
fourteen years old: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson. The forth girl was
Denise McNair who was just 11 years of age. All four of them were found beneath rubble in the

churchs basement restroom. They were getting ready for church that afternoon after Sunday
school. Those four werent the only ones that were affected by the bomb though.
The aftermath of the bombing was a horrific scene of destruction. A ten year-old Sarah
Collins was also by in the bathroom at the time of the bombing. She survived, but it cost her
right eye. Young Sarah Collins wasnt the only one who got injured that day; more than twenty
others were hurt. None of the people injured did anything to provoke the KKK to bomb the
church; nothing at all.
Eleven days before the bombing, Federal court ordered down mandating the integration
of Alabamas school system. The 16th street Birmingham Church bombing was the 3rd bombing
after the court ordered this. In the aftermath of this horrible tragedy 1,000 angry black protesters
gathered at the church. In response to this protest, Governor Wallace set troopers out to breakup the protesters. That wasnt the end of the protest, it was just the beginning.
This event sparked outrage throughout Birmingham and Alabama. In Birmingham were
the most riots and protestors. There was violence that raged across the city. Many people were
arrested and two African-American men were killed before National Guard who was called to
restore order. The National Guard didn't restore much order, not as much as Martin Luther King
Jr. could.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to African Americans at this time about not fighting
physically, but fighting with your words. (They were peaceful protests) Dr. King spoke to around
8,000 people at the funeral for three of the girls. The forth girls family wanted to have a small
private funeral. Martin Luther King Jr.s speech fueled the peoples outrage and it was now
across the United States. Now, they had to find the suspects for the bombing.
Of course, there were suspects for the bombing. They wanted them to be brought to
justice. The only thing was, there were so many unanswered questions that wouldnt be
answered until a decade later. In 1965 it was discovered that the FBI had information
concerning the identity of the bombing suspects and did nothing about it. The trial was then
reopened a number of times, for justice.
First, the Alabama attorney general Bob Baxley reopened the trial in 1977 for the
investigation of Klan leader Robert E. Chambliss. Chambliss was brought to trial and was
convicted of murder. He later died in prison in 1985. Then, in 1980, 1988, and 1997 the trial was
opened again. They found two former KKK members. They were brought to court and were
convicted. A fourth suspect Herman Frank Cash died before he could be brought to trial in 1994.
The 16th street Birmingham Church bombing is a story about how four innocent young
girls were killed. They did nothing to provoke anyone to do anything. All they did was go to
Sunday school that morning. There is no punishment for that. This moment in history helped
lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Every
event in the Civil Rights movement was a step forward for African Americans and their rights for
freedom. I believe that this bombing was a very large step ahead for African American rights.
This was a huge revelation for everyone; not just African Americans. It was also a huge eye

opener for white Americans. They were able to see what horrible things someone would to just
because of Hate.