On September 18, the funeral of the three other girls killed in the bombing was held at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation had concluded in 1965 that the bombing had been committed by four known KKK members and segregationists: Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry,[6] no prosecutions were conducted until 1977, when Robert Chambliss was tried by Attorney General of Alabama Bill Baxley and convicted of the first-degree murder of one of the victims, 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair. [48]:386 On September 29, he was indicted upon charges of illegally purchasing and transporting dynamite on September 4, 1963. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. A statement from Alabama's congressional delegation denounced the bombing. "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, 68, who was 13 at the time. 1963 terrorist attack in Birmingham, Alabama, 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), Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham Board of Education, Armstrong v. Birmingham Board of Education, Smith v. Young Men's Christian Association, University of Alabama desegregation crisis, Tuskegee High School desegregation crisis, 1963 Birmingham campaign's Children's Crusade, Mass racial violence in the United States, Racial segregation of churches in the United States, Timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States, "How Much Has Changed Since the Birmingham Church Bombing? 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. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. 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. [81] He testified that Chambliss had visited his headquarters in 1976 and that he had attempted to affix the blame for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing upon an altogether different member of the KKK. He said this past was not the evidence upon which they should return their verdicts. [132] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. 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. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. Life is hard. "[90][91], On the same afternoon that Chambliss's guilty verdict was announced, prosecutor Baxley issued a subpoena to Thomas Blanton to appear in court about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. A stretcher waits to carry away any more victims found. 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". 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]. 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. Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer was a research editor at Encyclopdia Britannica. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be tried. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. [57], Initially, investigators theorized that a bomb thrown from a passing car had caused the explosion at the 16th Street Baptist church. [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. Chris McNair and his wife, Maxine, hold a photograph of their daughter Denise the day after her death in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham . Two more young African Americans died, and the National Guard was called in to restore order. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), Original caption: The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing kills four girls and also leaves a scene of devastation. The deaths in a sense, are on the hands of each of us. Windows were blown out of nearby businesses as was a stained glass window at the church depicting Christ leading children. 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. [88] He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. Herman Frank Cash died of cancer in February 1994. Cherrys trial was delayed after judges ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Omissions? 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. "It would have given the extremists an opportunity to reconsider," Cross said. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 by white supremacist terrorists. Jones reviewed Blanton's extensive history with the Ku Klux Klan, before referring to the audio recordings presented earlier in the trial. 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. [62][63] At the time, no federal charges were filed against Chambliss or any of his fellow conspirators in relation to the bombing. The Robertsons made funeral arrangements before learning that the other families were planning a combined service with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, delivering the eulogy. 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 man at right is unidentified. [17], Hundreds of individuals, some of them lightly wounded, converged on the church to search the debris for survivors as police erected barricades around the church and several outraged men scuffled with police. In that important sense, the bombings impact was exactly the opposite of what its perpetrators had intended. 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. Corrections? "Violence is not in our plans," the Rev. "The answer should be, "We all did it." In Birmingham, attorney Charles Morgan, Jr. spoke before the Birmingham Young Men's Business Club, identifying the people responsible for the attack. Blanton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In 1963 the 16th Street Baptist Church hosted several meetings led by civil rights activists. Throughout the trial, Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, repeatedly observed that many of the prosecution's witnesses were either circumstantial or "inherently unreliable". Alabama Governor George Wallace was a leading foe of desegregation, and Birmingham had one of the strongest and most violent chapters of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). 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 church bombing was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabamas school system. September 15, 1963 - A bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four African-American girls during church services. That same day, news reports described the federal hunt for the bombers as rivaling the search for John Dillinger. An unidentified man digs grave for one of the four victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September 1963. (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. All rights reserved (About Us). Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002; both received life sentences (Cherry died in 2004, Blanton in 2020). [73] Baxley formally reopened the case in 1971. Bombings at Black homes[13] and institutions were a regular occurrence, with at least 21 separate explosions recorded at Black properties and churches in the eight years before 1963. After a jury convicted former Ku Klux Klan member Thomas E. Blanton Jr., who died in prison June 26, of participating in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963, then . A day after the tragedy, President Kennedy spoke of his "outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing. Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, protested his client's innocence, citing that much of the evidence presented was circumstantial. Efforts to prosecute the other three men believed responsible for the bombing continued for decades. Robinson, aged 16, was shot in the back by a policeman as he fled down an alley,[43] after ignoring police orders to halt. Thomas told those gathered "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be loving, be kind, be innocent. But, he warned the jury: "Just because you don't like him, that doesn't make him responsible for the bombing. [121] (A fishing float attached to a section of wire, which may have been part of a timing device, was found 20 feet (6.1m) from the explosion crater[87] following the bombing. Following the closing arguments, the jury retired to begin their deliberations, which lasted for over six hours and continued into the following day. This case grew out of the September 15, 1963, bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in which four young black girls were killed and a number of other people injured as a result of the blast which left the church in shambles. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry. Beneath piles of debris in the church basement, the dead bodies of four girlsAddie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson, all age 14, and Denise McNair (age 11)were discovered. Johnson urged the jury against convicting his client by association. He was 82 years old. Within 24 hours of the bombing, a minimum of five businesses and properties had been firebombed and numerous carsmost of which were driven by whiteshad been stoned by rioting youths. [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. "[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. The other victims were Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson. [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. One of several vehicles severely damaged in the explosion was found to have carried fishing tackle.[122]). Mr. Cherry is the final surviving suspect, and prosecutors say his trial will be the last in the case.The bomb went off on a Sunday morning, killing Denise McNair, 11, and Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley, all 14.The girls were in a downstairs lounge primping for a youth-led worship service when the bomb exploded outside the building. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Aftermath of the Birmingham Church Bombing, Lasting Impact of the Birmingham Church Bombing, information concerning the identity of the bombers, https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/birmingham-church-bombing. Blanton was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison.Klansman Robert Chambliss was convicted of murder in the bombing in 1977 and died in prison. This page was last edited on 20 April 2023, at 15:09. [132] Nonetheless, a 1979 investigation cleared Rowe of any involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. [66] This information was relayed to the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover;[67] however, no prosecutions of the four suspects ensued. "[65], On May 13, 1965, local investigators and the FBI formally named Blanton, Cash, Chambliss, and Cherry as the perpetrators of the bombing, with Robert Chambliss the likely ringleader of the four. [46] When he spotted Ware and his brother, Sims fired twice, reportedly with his eyes closed. [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 16th Street Baptist Church interior after the bombing . These instructions were relayed to the crowd present by a single youth with a bullhorn. President Barack Obama would go on to sign a bill awarding the four young victims of the tragic 1963 Birmingham church bombing with the Congressional Gold Medal.. Barbara Cross, a friend of the girls who survived the church bombing, recently recalled to TIME how close she was to possibly being a fifth death. 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. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Rev. This group had previously been linked to several bomb attacks at Black-owned businesses and the homes of Black community leaders throughout the spring and summer of 1963. 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. Following the opening statements, the prosecution began presenting witnesses. However, none of these explosions had resulted in fatalities. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The city of Birmingham, Alabama, was founded in 1871 and rapidly became the states most important industrial and commercial center. [8] When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Congress on Racial Equality became involved in a campaign to register African Americans to vote in Birmingham, tensions in the city increased. [57][58], As the girls' coffins were taken to their graves, King directed that those present remain solemn and forbade any singing, shouting or demonstrations. [52] Reportedly, Carole's mother, Alpha, had expressly requested that her daughter be buried separately from the other victims. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [61] Although he met with initial resistance from the FBI,[50]:278 in 1976 Baxley was formally presented with some of the evidence which had been compiled by the FBI, after he publicly threatened to expose the Department of Justice for withholding evidence which could result in the prosecution of the perpetrators of the bombing.[76]. 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? Violence broke out across the city in the aftermath of the bombing. We strive for accuracy and fairness. (The plastic remnants were later lost by investigators. Both were arrested. Officially, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remained unsolved until after William Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama in January 1971. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), Four Black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham church bombing, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/four-black-schoolgirls-killed-in-birmingham, The Four Seasons earn their first #1 hit with Sherry, Tanks introduced into warfare at the Somme, Muhammad Ali wins world heavyweight championship, First trenches are dug on the Western Front, South Vietnamese forces retake Quang Tri City, The first transcontinental mail service to San Francisco begins, Famous Marilyn Monroe skirt scene filmed, A Bible school instructor abducts a teenage girl. At least 14 others are injured in. It was meant to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations, and ensure that old fears would be propelled forward into the next generation.[146]. The four girls between the ages of 11 and 14 became innocent victims and emblems of the racist hatred. In his closing argument for the prosecution, Don Cochran said the victims' "Youth Sunday [sermon] never happened because it was destroyed by this defendant's hate. Also, at that time, information from our surveillance was not admissible in court. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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). In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. had been arrested there while leading supporters of his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in a nonviolent campaign of demonstrations against segregation. [64], The FBI encountered difficulties in their initial investigation into the bombing. The bombing occurred days after black students began attending Birmingham city schools. Both the church and the bereaved families received an estimated $23,000 in cash donations from members of the public. Maxine McNair died on Sunday, Birmingham Mayor Randall . (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), Original caption: Destruction is seen in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. [75]:574, Chambliss appealed his conviction, as provided under the law, saying that much of the evidence presented at his trialincluding testimony relating to his activities within the KKKwas circumstantial; that the 14-year delay between the crime and his trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial; and the prosecution had deliberately used the delay to try to gain an advantage over Chambliss's defense attorneys. Jones repeated the most damning statements Blanton had made in these recordings, before pointing at Blanton and stating: "That is a confession out of this man's mouth. When thousands of Black protesters assembled at the crime scene, Wallace sent hundreds of police and state troopers to the area to break up the crowd. Fifteen sticks of dynamite were planted in the church basement, underneath what turned out to be the girls restroom. [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]. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), A newspaper clipping shows police officers in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. KKK members had routinely called in bomb threats intended to disrupt civil rights meetings as well as services at the church. "[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. Martin said: "The cold-blooded callousness of this hate crime has not diminished by the passage of time." 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. I don't know why I'm going to jail for nothing. Cook testified that Chambliss had acknowledged his guilt regarding his 1963 arrest for possession of dynamite, but that he (Chambliss) was insistent he had given the dynamite to Rowe before the bombing.
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