The Birmingham Church Bombing

For a long time in American history, racism has promoted negative relations and conflicts between people of different cultures. Racism has always caused struggle in many different ways for a very long time. Since then, racism has affected more than several different races and probably struck African Americans the most. Much violence took place throughout African American struggles, and was probably at its highest point during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, when four girls were killed from a bomb, it wasn’t an uncommon event. Not only did this bomb murder four young girls, it also added to the continued racial relations in the South. Even though the bombing wasn’t positive, it led to the social and religious freedoms of all races today. Schools in Birmingham had recently been desegregated so violence between segregationists and blacks were high. This meant that all African Americans were in danger when walking down the street, grocery shopping, and even children walking to and from school. In Birmingham, Alabama, the 16th Street Baptist Church was not only where many civil rights meeting were held for those who gathered to protest, it was also a place of worship and Sunday school classes for many African American adults and children. Sunday morning on September 15, 1963, five girls were getting ready to perform in church when a racist bomb blasted the east side of the church. Four of the five girls died instantly and the fifth girl (a younger sister of one who died) lost her right eye. As stated in the following quote, the sisters’ last memory is, “Sarah Collins Rudolph, now 51, last remembers seeing her sister alive as she was tying the sash on Denise McNair’s dress” (“Ex-Klansman Gets Life Sentence”). That quote was told by the only girl of the five in the basement that lived through the bomb. The fact that she was the only survivor proves that the feud of racial injustice was continuing until the values were equal and at

Cited: Benson, Sonia, Brannen, Daniel, and Rebecca Valentine. “Birmingham Church Bombing.” Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Baker, Lawrence; Hermson, Sarah. Volume 1, 2009. Pages159-160 Print. “Ex-Klansman Gets Life Sentence For ’63 Birmingham Church Bombing.” Jet 101.25 (2002): 4. Middle Search plus. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Nelson, Cary. "About the 1963 Birmingham Bombing." About the 1963 Birmingham Bombing. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.