Prosecutions in the killings of Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Morris Wesley and Carole Robertson were delayed by the reluctance of witnesses and a dearth of physical evidence. On Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, several members of the KKK tunneled under the church and planted 122 sticks of dynamite near what was the girls' basement rest room. cemeteries found in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. For the youngsters, many of whom had marched proudly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it was another in a series of momentous events that year. Alabama, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. The family of Carole Robertson attendfuneral services for her on Sept. 17, 1963, in Birmingham. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Cynthia Wesley was raised by a single mother but stayed with her adoptive parents so she could attend a better school, where she excelled in math, reading and band. Four girlsAddie Mae Collins (age 14, born April 18, 1949), Carol Denise McNair (age 11, born November 17, 1951), Carole Rosamond Robertson (age 14, born April 24, 1949), and Cynthia Dionne Wesley (age 14, born April 30, 1949)were killed in the attack. This is a carousel with slides. In 1998, the Collins family requested that Addie Mae's body be exhumed and moved to another cemetery. In 1998, when her sisters visited her grave, and saw its neglected state, they immediately requested that Addie Mae's body be exhumed and moved to another better-maintained cemetery. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. The murders sparked nationwide outrage and energized the civil rights movement. Learn more about merges. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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, Alabama, killing. Original caption: The damaged interior of the church is shown in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. Try again later. Oops, something didn't work. After television news cameras revealed the brutal force unleashed on the children, city officials were forced to reform their harsh segregation laws. Murder Victim. It was Youth Sunday at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Windows were blown out of nearby businesses as was a stained glass window at the church depicting Christ leading children. Weve updated the security on the site. On May 22, 2002, Cherry was convicted and sentenced to life, bringing a long-awaited victory to the friends and families of the four young victims. For more on the ceremony, please visit this story. The bombing occurred days after black students began attending Birmingham city schools. In the rubble of the 16th Street Baptist Church were the bodies of Addie Mae Collins, 14, Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14. ). Three men were convicted of murdering Addie Mae Collins long after her death, in trials held between 1977 and 2002. No one else has ever been tried for the Sixteenth Street bombing. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Carole and Cynthia both 14 were going to be ushers. She was a member of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham which was, due to the spacious basement auditorium, the center for meetings of the civil rights movement. Thirty-five years ago a bomb killed four little girls in a Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Two young Black men were killed that night, one by police and another by racist thugs. Choose one sentence from the text that illustrates why this bombing was so different from the other acts of hatred. Astrological Sign: Aries. Photo by AP Images. That same day, news reports described the federal hunt for the bombers as rivaling the search for John Dillinger. Funeral services are held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Birmingham for Cynthia Wesley. Theyre just little niggers and if theres four less niggers tonight, then I say, Good for whoever planted the bomb!. To this day, the location of Addie Mae's body remains a mystery. Name: Addie Mae Collins Birth Year: 1949 Birth date: April 18, 1949 Birth State: Alabama Birth City: Birmingham Birth Country: United States Gender: Female Best Known For: Addie Mae Collins was. Accuracy and availability may vary. In May 1963, city and civil rights leaders negotiated the integration of public spaces, sparking widespread violence. of Search above to list available cemeteries. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. All Rights Reserved. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), Original caption: The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing kills four girls and also leaves a scene of devastation. Chambliss was sent to prison, where he died. A well-known Klan member, Robert Chambliss, was charged with murder and with buying 122 sticks of dynamite. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising Failed to remove flower. This is how we can honor Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and the countless others who have lost their lives to the hands of hate. Weve updated the security on the site. Try again later. The SPLCidentifiedwhite nationalists and neo-Nazis at Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Knoxville, Tennessee; Washington, D.C.; and Dallas just days after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Addie Mae Collins, Birth Year: 1949, Birth date: April 18, 1949, Birth State: Alabama, Birth City: Birmingham, Birth Country: United States. The song "Birmingham Sunday," recorded by Joan Baez memorialized the victims of the bombing. The bomb collapsed a basement wall, killing Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson - all 14 - and Denise McNair, 11, in a lounge they used for changing into their choir robes. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Failed to delete memorial. [29] She sang in her elementary school chorus, played the clarinet, and was a member of Jack and Jill of America, a civic-minded youth and family organization. Maxine and Chris McNair hold a picture of their daughter, Denise, the day after she was killed in the bombing. In 1997 a documentary film on the bombing called "4 Little Girls" was released. To counter this hate, we must all work vigilantly together against white supremacy to bring the hope, equity and inclusion that will lead to true justice for all. Now, as our nation confronts multiple assaults on democratic values, we hold firm in the fight to protectand to expanddemocracy through social justice education. Saturday was the 55th anniversary of the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, 14-year-old Collins was in the church basement room with a group of other children. The five girls were gathered in a downstairs washroom at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church on the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, when a timed bomb planted by KKK members went off outside under . One of them was Addie Mae Collins sister Sarah, who was blinded in one eye. In 1977, a 73-year-old Chambliss was convicted of the murder of Collins and sentenced to life in prison. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? In 1963, when Addie Mae Collins died, it was still relatively common in the South to harvest bodies from cemeteries and the cemeteries chosen were usually the ones that served the black community. One. I'm shot," he told his brother James with his dying breath. "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," Kennedy said. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). With California booming, thanks to the 1849 Gold Rush, Americans east and west had been clamoring for read more, Mary Clarissa Agatha Miller, later known as Agatha Christie, is born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay, Devon, England. Then, 14 years later, Alabama Attorney General William Baxley reopened the case. On September 15, 2008, the venerable Wall Street brokerage firm Lehman Brothers seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest victim of the subprime mortgage crisis that would devastate financial markets and contribute to the biggest economic downturn since the read more, Frankie Valli (born Francis Casteluccio) had been hard at work trying to become a star for the better part of a decade before the Four Seasons achieved their breakthrough. Fear and resentment of our nations growing diversity are at the heart of the hate that has been swelling across America for years. The long struggle was won mainly because children were brave enough to march into the overpowering water hoses and vicious dogs of Police Commissioner Bull Connor. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Three day after the bombing, funeral services were held for Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, both 14, and 11-year-old Denise McNair. Year should not be greater than current year. A system error has occurred. From left to right: Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; Addie Mae Collins, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14. 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. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. All rights reserved (About Us). Noting that no timing device was found, he disputed the . This decision was later reversed. Four Black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham church bombing, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/four-black-schoolgirls-killed-in-birmingham. Fred Shuttlesworth, left, and Ralph Abernathy as they attend funeral services at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church for three of the four Black girls killed in the church bombing. Thanks for your help! They marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through overpowering water hoses and vicious dogs. Images of this reality led to reform of the segregation laws, including in schools and at lunch counters. When the debris was searched for survivors, the bodies of four young girls were found; Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Carole Robertson. There had been many bombings in Birmingham designed to stop the black struggle for equality. Addie Mae Collins was 14 when she became one of the civil rights movement's most lamented victims. It's a story that goes from colonial times all the way up to the present. This year, relatives of Addie Mae Collins, one of the girls that was killed, wanted to move her body to another burial site and found that it wasn't there. Failed to report flower. Learn more about merges. They had come together as a group in several stages over the previous four years, changing their name in read more, The Battle of Britain reaches its climax when the Royal Air Force (RAF) downs 56 invading German aircraft in two dogfights lasting less than an hour. Her family says someone is responsible . Rudolph, who spoke to the press following a service at the church marking the anniversary of the bombing on Monday, said the family tried to exhume Addie Mae Collins around the year 2000, in order . Janie Gaines and Sarah Cox know from experience that black cadavers tend to disappear. In the end, more than 20 people were hospitalized with injuries. The girls had been dressed in their Sunday best, ready to sing and act as ushers at the adult service, and only a few minutes before the explosion they had been together in the basement women's room, talking about the new school year. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6433252/addie-mae-collins. Try again. Addie Mae Collins, 14, and Denise McNair, 11, were in the choir. Maxine McNair was an educator. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, & Cynthia Wesley, Includes text, author, text categories, vocabulary terms, text dependent questions with answers, Includes text, author, vocabulary terms, text dependent questions. The benefits of learning to play READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Both READ THE REST, In this video, Atlas Obscura digs out an ancient, giant fish from the archives of the Wet Specimen Collection at Chicago's Field Museum. Verify and try again. The federal Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, passed in 1968, effectively led to the end of grave robbing and the deliberate bias that went with it. And weve watched with horror as a wave of deadly violence takes the lives of innocent people time and time again in Charleston, South Carolina; in Charlottesville, Virginia; in Poway, California; in El Paso, Texas and in Pittsburgh. Ministers homes, a black-owned hotel, and other churches had been wrecked. Gov. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. A few days before the bombing, Wallace had said the nation needed a few first class funerals to resolve its race issues. Prior to the bombing, how had the children in Birmingham made history? Make sure that the file is a photo. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Ten months later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which legally ended more than 70 years of Jim Crow segregation. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. It didnt matter what race they were. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994, before he could be charged. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. We have set your language to He attended college at Yale University, graduating second in his class. The murders touched off nationwide outrage. That part of the story is pretty well-known. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy. Addie Mae Collins was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 18, 1949. Baxley obtained FBI files containing substantive information, including the names of suspects, which had been withheld by J. Edgar Hoover in the 1960s. Add to your scrapbook. Her body was not in the spot where it was presumed to be. Addie Mae's sister) The Collins family appears in the 1997 Spike Lee film 4 Little Girls, a documentary on the bombing and its political significance. Just as the deaths of the four girls in Birmingham led to public outrage and a renewed commitment to civil rights, the Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality this year have ushered in a renewed sense of hope that our nation may one day find a meaningful way to address systemic anti-Black racism not only in law enforcement, but also in all of our institutions and society at large. He asked his audience: Who did it? and gave his own anguished answer: We all did it every person in this community who has in any way contributed to the popularity of hatred is at least as guilty as the demented fool who threw that bomb.. Her family says someone is. No one can know with certainty who took the body or why, but many are convinced that her body joined the untold thousands of anonymous black cadavers on anatomists' tables. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. "Wow. Addie Mae was buried at Birmingham's Greenwood Cemetery. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Grief will not prevail. She attended Hill Elementary School and was an enthusiastic softball player and budding artist. The murders touched off nationwide outrage. That morning twenty-six children were in the church's basement assembly room preparing for the service when the bomb exploded. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. I had no idea how leafcutter ants did their job, but this "Ant Lab" clip (below) explains it well in just 41 seconds, and the close-up photography is outstanding. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. When the debris was searched for survivors, the bodies of four young girls were found; Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Carole Robertson. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. 31 October 1884-1 October 1953 (Age 68) Texas, United States. Shortly after the church bombing, white supremacist leader Connie Lynch told a group of Klansmen that those responsible for the bombing deserved medals. Lynch said the four young girls who died there werent children. Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. At 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded under the steps of the church. Best Known For: Addie Mae Collins was a 14-year-old murder victim whose 1963 death focused public attention on racial violence in the South. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Photo by AP Images. Addie Mae Collins' younger sister, Sarah, had been with the four girls when the bomb exploded, but survived the attack as did the other 22 children in the basement. Photo by AP Images. An overflow crowd attends memorial services at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sept. 18, 1963, for three of the four Black girls killed in the bombing. Add to your scrapbook. Born April 18, 1949 Died September 15, 1963 (14) Add to list Credits IMDbPro Archive Footage Previous 3 The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song Collins' murder remained officially unsolved until the 1970s. Two other perpetratorsThomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherrywere convicted in 2001 and 2002, respectively. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders used as a meeting place, training ground and rallying point for the Birmingham Childrens Crusade and other direct actions for civil rights. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. We all did it. Every person in this community who has in any way contributed during the past several years to the popularity of hatred is at least as guilty, or more so, than the demented fool who threw that bomb," Morgan said.