The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama

Eric & I visited the

16th Street Baptist Church

in Birmingham.

Known as America's most segregated City, Birmingham was the setting of many acts of Racial Terrorism.  Starting in 1947 bombs were set off in Black neighborhoods to intimidate the residents.  

The 16th Street Baptist Church was the headquarters for the Movement.   People organized in the nearby park and Marches were held.  The Police beat protesters, sicced Police Dogs on them, and knocked them down with high-pressure Water Cannons.  After being brutalized, many spent time in Birmingham's Jails.

On September 15, 1963, the congregation was rocked by the bomb that exploded under the Church's steps.  

Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carol Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were killed.  Twenty other worshipers were injured.

This memorial is inscribed:

"Now they are ambassadors for

Christ, as though God did beseech

you by us; we pray you in Christ's

stead; be ye reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:20

Immediately after the bombing violence raged across the City.  Police clashed with angry Black residents.  Sixteen-year-old Johnny Robinson was shot by Police and 13-year-old Virgil Ware was shot and killed by white youths while riding his bike.

Birmingham was horrified by the violence that occurred that day.  Whites in Birmingham offered services and condolences to the families.  Eight thousand people attended the girls' funeral at Reverend John Porter's 6th Avenue Baptist Church.  

The entire nation was focused on Birmingham and the violence against Black Citizens.   The focus on Civil Rights Actions across the South led Congress to pass the  Civil Rights Act of 1964.  President Johnson signed the package of Bills into Law on July 2, 1964.

Sixty years later the quest for Equal Rights for all Americans continues...