Robbins also discredited the testimony of FBI agent William Fleming, who had earlier testified as to a government witness claiming he had seen Blanton in the vicinity of the church shortly before the bombing. Baxley acknowledged that typical juries in 1960s Alabama would have likely leaned in favor of both defendants, even if these recordings had been presented as evidence,[128] but said that he could have prosecuted Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry in 1977 if he had been granted access to these tapes. A fifth girl who had been with them, Sarah Collins (the younger sister of Addie Mae Collins), lost her right eye in the explosion, and several other people were injured. Despite repeated demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice, the first trial in the case was not held until 1977, when former clan member Robert E. Chambliss was convicted of murder (Chambliss, who continued to maintain his innocence, died in prison in 1985). 1963 Four Black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham church bombing On September 15, 1963, a bomb explodes during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham,. [116], His first parole hearing was held on August 3, 2016. In spite of the darkness of this hour, we must not become bitter We must not lose faith in our white brothers. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer was a research editor at Encyclopdia Britannica. Such a lack of evidence isnt unusual in powerful explosions, he said, because bomb components often are destroyed.However, defense attorney Mickey Johnson hammered at the lack of evidence. In the aftermath of the bombing, thousands of angry Black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing. The crime was calculated, not random. Although informative to the FBI, Rowe actively participated in violence against both Black and white civil rights activists. Don Cochran disputed this position, arguing that Alabama law provides for "conspiracies to conceal evidence" to be proven by both inference and circumstantial evidence. In May 2000, the FBI publicly announced their findings that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four members of the KKK splinter group known as the Cahaba Boys. Brogdon also testified that Cherry had told her of his regret that children had died in the bombing, before adding his satisfaction that they would never reproduce. He referred to testimony given by her father, Chris McNair, about the family's loss, and requested that the jury return a verdict of guilty.[86]. [36] She had 21 pieces of glass embedded in her face and was blinded in one eye. Nearby buildings are left without glass in windows. Brogdon testified on May 16 that Cherry had boasted to her that he had been the individual who planted the bomb beneath the steps to the church, then returned hours later to light the fuse to the dynamite. Shortly thereafter, she had heard "the most horrible noise", before being struck on the head by debris. "This bombing of children was a dastardly act.". But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [11] The work these Civil Rights activists were engaged in within Birmingham was crucial to the movement as the Birmingham campaign was seen as guidance for other cities in the South with regards to rising against segregation and racism. The act of terror by four members of the KKK at the. [97], On May 16, 2000, a grand jury in Alabama indicted Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry on eight counts each in relation to the 16th Street Baptist Church A section of wire and remnants of red plastic were discovered there, which could have been part of a timing device. The first of these witnesses was Tom Cook, a retired Birmingham police officer, who testified on November 15 as to a conversation he had had with Chambliss in 1975. Alvin and Alpha Robertson, parents of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing victim Carole Robertson at the funeral for their daughter; Sept. 17, 1963. "Violence is not in our plans," the Rev. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, newly-inaugurated President Lyndon Johnson continued to press for passage of the civil rights bill sought by his predecessor. In 1968, the FBI formally closed their investigation into the bombing without filing charges against any of their named suspects. Wallace and his advisers have been sowing the seeds of this disaster," the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law stated. [132] Nonetheless, a 1979 investigation cleared Rowe of any involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Original caption: NEWS FILE/TOM SELF A stained glass window bears testament to a bomb's damage; Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, September 15, 1963. [104] He said: "You've got to have a meeting to plan a bomb. [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. Although Cash is known to have passed a polygraph test in which he was questioned as to his potential involvement in the bombing, The Reverend John Cross, who had been the pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church at the time of the 1963 bombing, died of natural causes on November 15, 2007. People everywhere died.". [1][2][3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.[4]. After Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley reopened the case, Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison. She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Birmingham, but her body has been. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point in the United States during the civil rights movement and also contributed to support for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Congress. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. Another 22 people were injured in the explosion. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). "[9] Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety, Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor,[10] led the effort in enforcing racial segregation in the city through the use of violent tactics. Original caption: Juanita Jones, center, comforts her sister, Maxine McNair, whose daughter Denise McNair died earlier that day in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing. Prosecutors at Chambliss's 1977 trial had initially intended to call Rowe as a witness; however, DA William Baxley had chosen not to call Rowe as a witness after being informed of the results of these polygraph tests. The citys police commissioner, Eugene Bull Connor, was notorious for his willingness to use brutality in combating radical demonstrators, union members and any Black citizens. U.S. government destroying the dollars value through inflation. At this service, the Reverend C. E. Thomas told the congregation: "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be lovely, be kind, be innocent. (Charles Nesbitt/Birmingham News/AP) Until she. Martin Luther King Jr. described Birmingham as "probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. This decision was later reversed. The church's pastor, the Reverend John Cross Jr., attempted to placate the crowd by loudly reciting the 23rd Psalm through a bullhorn. Ten-year-old Sarah Collins, who was also in the restroom at the time of the explosion, lost her right eye, and more than 20 other people were injured in the blast. Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002; both received life sentences (Cherry died in 2004, Blanton in 2020). Victims of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Ware, aged 13, was shot in the cheek and chest with a revolver[16] in a residential suburb 15 miles (24km) north of the city. [93] In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. The Birmingham church bombing shocked the nation during the fight for the Civil Rights. Corrections? The 'who' is every little individual who talks about the 'niggers' and spreads the seeds of his hate to his neighbor and his son What's it like living in Birmingham? [83], In his closing argument before the jury on November 17,[84] Baxley acknowledged that Chambliss was not the sole perpetrator of the bombing. Robinson, aged 16, was shot in the back by a policeman as he fled down an alley,[43] after ignoring police orders to halt. Though Birminghams white supremacists (and even certain individuals) were immediately suspected in the bombing, repeated calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice went unanswered for more than a decade. In October 1963, Chambliss was cleared of the murder charge and received a six-month jail sentence and a $100 fine for the dynamite. [37] In her later recollections of the bombing, Collins would recall that in the moments immediately before the explosion, she had watched her sister, Addie, tying her dress sash. Stressing that Blanton should not be judged for his beliefs, Robbins again vehemently criticized the validity and poor quality of the audio recordings presented, and the selectivity of the sections which had been introduced into evidence. For more on the ceremony, please visit this story. [127], When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Cherry motioned to the prosecutors and stated: "This whole bunch lied through this thing [the trial]. [42], Although reports of the bombing and the loss of four children's lives were glorified by white supremacists, who in many instances chose to celebrate the loss as "four less niggers",[43] as news of the church bombing and the fact that four young girls had been killed in the explosion reached the national and international press, many felt that they had not taken the civil rights struggle seriously enough. According to Cobbs, Chambliss had said: "It [the bomb] wasn't meant to hurt anybody it didn't go off when it was supposed to. In a speech conducted before the burials of the girls, King addressed an estimated 3,300[56] mournersincluding numerous white peoplewith a speech saying: This tragic day may cause the white side to come to terms with its conscience. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, Sept 13 (Reuters) - When a church bombing killed four young black girls on a quiet Sunday morning in 1963, life for a young Condoleezza Rice changed forever. This page was last edited on 20 April 2023, at 15:09. The files were sealed by order of J. Edgar Hoover. The community, the state and the nation were stunned and shocked by this dastardly act. [11] The intentional scope of these activities was to see the end of segregation across Birmingham and the South as a whole. [126] Cherry remained stoic as the sentence was read aloud. The Cahaba Boys had formed earlier in 1963, as they felt that the KKK was becoming restrained and impotent in response to concessions granted to Black people to end racial segregation. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. T hursday marked the 59th anniversary of white supremacists' deadly bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. [27] Several other cars parked near the site of the blast were destroyed, and windows of properties located more than two blocks from the church were also damaged. As Birmingham took on the appearance of a battle zone, with hundreds of police, troopers and guardsmen patrolling the streets, another black teen, Johnny Robinson, was shot to death by police. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. Following the bombing, the 16th Street Baptist Church remained closed for over eight months, as assessments and, later, repairs were conducted upon the property. Noting that no timing device was found, he disputed the governments long-held theory the bomb was planted by KKK members hours before the explosion.Mr. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. "Darkness will not last forever. In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. here for reprint permission. Yet the men. "[124] Cochran outlined Cherry's extensive record of racial violence dating back to the 1950s, and noted that he had experience and training in constructing and installing bombs from his service as a Marine demolition expert. [12] The city had no Black police officers or firefighters[12] and most Black residents could expect to find menial employment in professions such as cooks and cleaners. "The answer should be, "We all did it." Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Chambliss had been indicted by a grand jury on September 24, 1977, charged with four counts of murder, for each dead child in the 1963 church bombing. The Aftermath. Many of the civil rights protest marches that took place in Birmingham during the 1960s began at the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had long been a significant religious center for the citys Black population and a routine meeting place for civil rights organizers like King. [49], The city of Birmingham initially offered a $52,000 reward for the arrest of the bombers. But by September 20, the FBI was able to confirm that the explosion had been caused by a device that was purposely planted beneath the steps to the church,[59] close to the women's lounge. 203 Birmingham Church Bombing Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 203 Birmingham Church Bombing Premium High Res Photos Browse 203 birmingham church bombing photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. "[45], Two more Black youths, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware, were shot to death in Birmingham within seven hours of the Sunday morning bombing. On May 15,[123] Cross testified that prior to the explosion, she and the four girls killed had each attended a Youth Day Sunday School lesson in which the theme taught was how to react to a physical injustice. Baxley also gathered evidence proving Chambliss had purchased dynamite from a store in Jefferson County less than two weeks before the bomb was planted,[74] upon the pretext the dynamite was to be used to clear land the KKK had purchased near Highway 101. [41] The Birmingham City Council convened an emergency meeting to propose safety measures for the city, although proposals for a curfew were rejected. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. On November 18, 1977,[87] they found Robert Chambliss guilty of the murder of Carol Denise McNair. Here are photos from that day: Original caption: NEWS FILE/TOM SELF Firefighters sift through rubble and search for bodies in the basement of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church after a bomb killed four girls on Sunday, September 15, 1963. Reverend Cobbs stated that her uncle had repeatedly informed her he had been engaged in what he referred to as a "one-man battle" against Blacks since the 1940s. [133], I remembered the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. In the closing argument for the defense, attorney Mickey Johnson argued that Cherry had nothing to do with the bombing, and reminded the jurors that his client was not on trial for his beliefs, stating: "It seems like more time has been spent here throwing around the n-word than proving what happened in September 1963. Cross said he believed the violence could have been prevented if civic leaders had spoken out forcefully against the bombings across Birmingham in recent years. That same day, news reports described the federal hunt for the bombers as rivaling the search for John Dillinger. Other witnesses obtained identified Chambliss as the individual who had placed the bomb beneath the church. The Birmingham church bombing occurred on September 15, 1963, when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabamaa church with a. Mauldin testified on April 30 that he had observed two men in a Rambler station wagon adorned with a Confederate flag repeatedly drive past the church immediately before the blast, and that, seconds after the bomb had exploded, the car had "burned rubber" as it drove away. "[44] A Milwaukee Sentinel editorial opined, "For the rest of the nation, the Birmingham church bombing should serve to goad the conscience. His famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail was published in the national press, along with shocking images of police brutality against protesters in Birmingham that helped build widespread support for the civil rights cause. The explosion sprayed mortar and bricks from the front of the building, caved in walls, and filled the interior with smoke, and horrified parishioners quickly evacuated. Although Baxley knew he had insufficient evidence to charge Blanton at this stage, he intended the subpoena to frighten Blanton into confessing his involvement and negotiating a plea deal to turn state evidence against his co-conspirators. When Governor Wallace sent police and state troopers to break the protests up, violence broke out across the city; a number of protesters were arrested, and two young African American men were killed (one by police) before the National Guard was called in to restore order. It's never too late for a man to be held accountable for his crimes." The call was answered by the acting Sunday School secretary, a 14-year-old girl named Carolyn Maull. [8], In the years leading up to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham had earned a national reputation as a tense, violent and racially segregated city, in which even tentative racial integration in any form was met with violent resistance. Homemade bombs planted by white supremacists in homes and churches became so commonplace that the city was sometimes known as Bombingham. Local African American churches such as the 16th Street Baptist Church were fundamental in the organization of much of the protest activity. He became a paid FBI informant in 1961. A 16-year-old white youth named Larry Sims fired the gun (given to him by another youth named Michael Farley) at Ware, who was sitting on the handlebars of a bicycle ridden by his brother. Both were arrested. Cochran also reminded the jury of a secretly obtained FBI recording, which had earlier been introduced into evidence, in which Cherry had told his first wife, Jean, that he and other Klansmen had constructed the bomb within the premises of business the Friday before the bombing. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. On May 21, 2002, both prosecution and defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments to the jury. In his opening statement to the jurors, defense attorney John Robbins acknowledged his client's affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and his views on racial segregation. More than 1,000 people were present at the unveiling of the memorial, including survivors of the bombing, friends of the victims and the parents of Denise McNair, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware. According to Vann's later testimony, Chambliss was standing "looking down toward the church, like a firebug watching his fire". At the base of the sculpture is an inscription of the title of the sermon the four girls were to attend before the bombing"A Love That Forgives". Two more violent deaths that day Later that day, 13-year-old Virgil Ware, riding on the. Also present was Martin Luther King Jr. In an effort to intimidate demonstrators, members of the KKK routinely telephoned the church with bomb threats intended to disrupt these meetings as well as regular church services. King later spoke before 8,000 people at the funeral for three of the girls (the family of the fourth girl held a smaller private service), fueling the public outrage now mounting across the country. In his rebuttal closing argument, defense attorney Art Hanes Jr. attacked the evidence presented by the prosecution as being purely circumstantial,[87] adding that, despite the existence of similar circumstantial evidence, Chambliss had not been prosecuted in 1963 of the church bombing. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was examined by director Spike Lee in the Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls (1997). the 41st bombing in the city in the past 16 years, Virgil Ware, riding on the handlebars of a bicycle, outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement, https://www.britannica.com/event/16th-Street-Baptist-Church-bombing, History Learning Site - 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing, Spartacus Educational - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, BlackPast.org - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, National Park Service - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963), 16th Street Baptist Church bombing - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The last living parent of one of the four children killed in the terrorist bombing of an African American church in 1963 has died at 93. Following the closing arguments, the jury retired to begin their deliberations, which lasted for over six hours and continued into the following day. We all did it! [7] Herman Cash died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. Pictured here are Johnny Robinson (left), 16, and Virgil Ware, 13. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at the funeral of three of the girls. A statement from Alabama's congressional delegation denounced the bombing. Farrell Griswold, pastor of Minor Heights Baptist, told the crowd. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body being removed at 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. "It was just a matter of time," said Pastor John H. Cross of the bombing. I told the truth. [77] But at a pre-trial hearing on October 18,[78] Judge Wallace Gibson ruled that the defendant would be tried upon one count of murderthat of Carol Denise McNair[78]and that the remaining three counts of murder would remain, but that he would not be charged in relation to these three deaths. 1963 terrorist attack in Birmingham, Alabama 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Part of the Civil Rights movementand the Birmingham campaign The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left) Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11) Location Birmingham, Alabama Coordinates All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Although this donation was accepted,[50]:274 Martin Luther King Jr. is known to have sent Wallace a telegram saying, "the blood of four little children is on your hands. Upon learning of the bombing at the Church, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a telegram to Alabama Governor George Wallace, a staunch and vocal segregationist, stating bluntly: 'The blood of our little children is on your hands." The brutal attack and the deaths of the four little girls . Though Cash died in 1994, Cherry and Blanton were arrested and charged with four counts of murder in 2000. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [38] Another sister of Addie Mae Collins, 16-year-old Junie Collins, would later recall that shortly before the explosion, she had been sitting in the basement of the church reading the Bible and had observed Addie Mae Collins tying the dress sash of Carol Denise McNair before she returned upstairs to the ground floor of the church. Martin Luther King Jr. said he hoped the deaths "may well serve as the redemptive force that brings light to this dark city.". AP While the FBI concluded in 1965 that the. He was 82 years old. (Sims and Farley were later convicted of second-degree manslaughter,[47] although the judge suspended their sentences and imposed two years' probation upon each youth. [120] Cherry pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify on his own behalf during the trial. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. Following Cook's testimony, Baxley introduced police sergeant Ernie Cantrell. No one ever really has known and no one will until this city becomes part of the United States. Jones reviewed Blanton's extensive history with the Ku Klux Klan, before referring to the audio recordings presented earlier in the trial. [96] They unsealed 9,000 pieces of evidence previously gathered by the FBI in the 1960s (many of these documents relating to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had not been made available to DA William Baxley in the 1970s). [97], On May 16, 2000, a grand jury in Alabama indicted Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry on eight counts each in relation to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
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