[101], The most crucial piece of evidence presented at Blanton's trial was an audio recording secretly taped by the FBI in June 1964, in which Blanton was recorded discussing his involvement in the bombing with his wife, who can be heard accusing her husband of conducting an affair with a woman named Waylen Vaughn two nights before the bombing. T hursday marked the 59th anniversary of white supremacists' deadly bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The bombing, perpetrated by a white supremacist, became a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement and sparked the outrage that led to the . Outrage over the death of the four young girls helped build increased support behind the continuing struggle to end segregationsupport that would help lead to the passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Robinson, aged 16, was shot in the back by a policeman as he fled down an alley,[41] after ignoring police orders to halt. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into effect the Civil Rights Act of 1964. February 20, 2006 - The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is declared a national historic landmark. As a known and popular rallying point for civil rights activists, the 16th Street Baptist Church was an obvious target. She spoke with News4's Molette Green about . 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. Most parishioners were able to evacuate the building as it filled with smoke, but the bodies of four young girls (14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson and 11-year-old Denise McNair) were found beneath the rubble in a basement restroom. ", September 15, 2013, marked the 50th anniversary, girls who died are awarded Congressional Gold Medals, statement released by Alabama Gov. An estimated 8,000 people attended the service. Sarah Jean Collins, 12, lost an eye in the blast. The bells of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., tolled Monday in remembrance of the four girls who were killed in a bombing at the church 40 years ago. 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. Officially, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remained unsolved until after William Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama in January 1971. Mourners embrace at the funeral. Johnson urged the jury against convicting his client by association. "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, 68, who was 13 at the time. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. Although this march was met with fierce resistance and criticism, and 600 arrests were made on the first day alone, the Birmingham campaign and its Children's Crusade continued until May 5. Immediately after the blast, church members. Outrage over the incident and the violent clash between protesters and police that followed helped draw national attention to the hard-fought, often-dangerous struggle for civil rights for African Americans. Heres a look at the Birmingham, Alabama, church bombing that killed four African-American girls during church services in 1963. Also, at that time, information from our surveillance was not admissible in court. At times as hard as crucible steel, but, today, you do not walk alone. On May 21, 2002, both prosecution and defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments to the jury. It is located at Kelly Ingram Park, on the corner of Sixteenth Street North and Sixth Avenue North. [130] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. There had been a history of mistrust between local and federal investigators. The call was answered by the acting Sunday School secretary, a 14-year-old girl named Carolyn Maull. [118] Cherry pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify on his own behalf during the trial. Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was brought to trial in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett on April 24, 2001. [124] Cherry remained stoic as the sentence was read aloud. 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. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. "[102], In addition to calling attention to flaws in the prosecution's case, the defense exposed inconsistencies in the memories of some prosecution witnesses who had testified. READ MORE: Civil Rights Movement Timeline, https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/birmingham-church-bombing. On September 15, 1963, in Birmingham, a bomb exploded on 16th street Baptist Church at 10:22 A.M. During a Sunday school session the ground floor of the church collapsed, four girls out of nearly 200 people died, some. Through these rulings, Mitchell Burns was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do? The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15 was the third bombing in 11 days, after a federal court order had come down mandating the integration of Alabamas school system. ), Both counsels delivered their closing arguments before the jury on May 1. Firefighters and ambulance attendants remove a body from the church. [76][77], Chambliss pleaded not guilty to the charges, insisting that although he had purchased a case of dynamite less than two weeks before the bombing, he had given the dynamite to a Klansman and FBI agent provocateur named Gary Thomas Rowe Jr.[78], To discredit Chambliss's claims that Rowe had committed the bombing, prosecuting attorney William Baxley introduced two law enforcement officers to testify as to Chambliss's inconsistent claims of innocence. The Church of England is considered the original church of the Anglican Communion, which represents over 85 million people in more than 165 read more, The civil rights movement was an organized effort by Black Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. Relatives of the four victims openly wept in relief. Several dozen people were present at the unveiling, presided over by state Senator. Lives were lost and you were defined by your skin color. [111][112] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". The Birmingham campaign, the March on Washington in August, the September bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church, and the November assassination of John F. Kennedyan ardent supporter of the civil rights cause who had proposed a Civil Rights Act of 1963 on national television[69]increased worldwide awareness of and sympathy toward the civil rights cause in the United States. )[16], These demonstrations and the concessions from city leaders to the majority of demonstrators' demands were met with fierce resistance by other whites in Birmingham. In attendance were major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.[69] This legislation prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin; to ensure full, equal rights of African Americans before the law. The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing was a devastating event. [13][15], Civil Rights activists and leaders in Birmingham fought against the city's deeply-ingrained and institutionalized racism with tactics that included the targeting of Birmingham's economic and social disparities. Four young black girls-Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley, and Carole Robe September 16, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy responds by saying, If these cruel and tragic events can only awaken that city and state - if they can only awaken this entire nation to a realization of the folly of racial injustice and hatred and violence, then it is not too late for all concerned to unite in steps toward peaceful progress before more lives are lost., September 16, 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holds a press conference in Birmingham, Alabama, saying that the US Army ought to come to Birmingham and take over this city and run it.. [4] It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. Oval photographs and brief biographies of the four girls killed in the explosion, the most seriously injured survivor (Sarah Collins), and the two teenage boys who were shot to death later that day also adorn the base of the sculpture. Discovery Company. Rudolph, known as the "Fifth Little Girl" for surviving the. The bombings targeted African-American leaders of the Birmingham campaign. In attendance were 1,600 people. A coffin is loaded into a hearse at a funeral for the girls. "[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. "[43], Two more black youths, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware, were shot to death in Birmingham within seven hours of the Sunday morning bombing. Many of the same audiotapes presented in Blanton's trial were also introduced into evidence in the trial of Bobby Cherry. [65]), Although both Blanton and Cherry denied their involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, until his death in 1985, Robert Chambliss repeatedly insisted that the bombing had been committed by Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. Rowe had been encouraged to join the Klan by acquaintances in 1960. [33], Between 14 and 22 additional people were injured in the explosion,[34][35] one of whom was Addie Mae's younger sister, 12-year-old Sarah Collins. 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