62 Years Since Bombing Killed 4 Birmingham Girls

By April Ryan
Black Press USA

It is 62 years later after the death of the four little girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, just weeks after the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Democratic, Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell said this anniversary reminds us to reflect on issues our forefathers fought for during the most powerful movement in this nation: civil rights, voting rights, and civil liberties. 

Twelve years ago, the four little girls received the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously: Addie Mae Collins, Dennis McNair, Cynthia Wesley, and Carol Robertson. Shavon Arline-Bradley of the National Council of Negro Women says we are commemorating one of the most gruesome acts of violence in our country’s history, where 4 Black Girls from Birmingham, Alabama lost their lives at the hands of White Supremacists.”

Dr. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, says of the heinous, deadly bombing that there was “no respect for our humanity,” feeling the crime emphasizes “they don’t see us as being human.”

The children were in church during the Sunday School hour when the deadly explosion occurred. Arline Bradley said, “Today, as we celebrate their contribution to the freedoms we enjoy today, let us be reminded that we shall overcome and victory belongs to those of us that fight for liberty and justice for all.” 

Meanwhile, there is a fifth survivor, Sara Collins Rudolph,  Addie Mae’s sister, who lost her eyes and carries scars from the bombing.