The Birmingham Church Bombing

By Reid and Foster

 

On September 15, 1963, four African American girls were killed in a church bombing at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The following will tell you the whos, the whats, the whens, the wheres, and the whys about this topic.

 

Who:

 

Four girls by the names of Denise McNair, 11, Cynthia Wesley, 14, Carole Robertson, 14, and Addie Mae Collins, 14 were killed in the bombing. 20 others were wounded. Robert Chambliss, a member of the KKK, bombed the church with help of a few others: Charles Cagle, John W. Hall, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Thomas Blanton. But, the person who planned the crusade was Wyatt Tee Walker. Before the bombing Johnny Robinson was stoning white men's cars. After the bombing he was shot and killed by Jack Parker. Another person who was shot was Virgil Ware. He was shot while he was on his bike with his brother. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth's house had been bombed three times already.

 

 

 

 

 

What:

 

 

Riots had been going on for the past week. Birmingham was total mayhem. The jails were full so no one was getting arrested. Police attacks were televised. The televised attacks showed the police hosing African Americans and police dogs attacking African Americans. Robert Chambliss used 19 sticks of dynamite with a delayed release time to bomb the church.

 

 

When:

 

The church was blown up on Sunday, September 15, 1963 at 10:19 a.m.

 

 

 

Where:

The bombing occured at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in the county of Scottsboro and the city of Birmingham, Alabama.

 

 

 

Why:

 

 

The KKK bombed the church because it was the headquarters for the SCLC. Many riots and marches took place at the church. Also, the KKK always wanted to put the African Americans down and out of their hopes.

 

 

 

 

         

 The Confederate Battle Flag should not be on the state flag because it makes it look like we support the Confederacy and slavery. It is racist to African Americans and makes it look like we want ot seceede or something.

 

The Georgia State flag shouldn't've been changed because it is racist to blacks. An attorney named Robert Sammons Bell wanted to change it. Jefferson Thomas signed it to be the state flag. This was a racist act. The people who did this probably wanted it like this because they supported slavery.

 

Our flag represents the state of Georgia. The thirteen stars represent the thirteen colonies and how Georgia was one of them. The G's represent Georgia. The peach in the top left hand corner represents Georgia's state fruit. The fifty stars in the state replica are the fifty states. The red, white, and blue in the background shows support for our country.

Bibliography:

1. http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/birmingham_church/index.html

2."The Moderate State." Encyclopedia Britanica. 2008. Encyclopedia Britanica. Atlanta. 7 Feb. 2008 3.<http://school.eb.com/all/comptons/article-196122?query=birmingham%20church%20bombing%201963&ct=null>.

4.Farce in Birmingham, Time, October.18 1963 pg.27

5."Belated Justice in Birmingham." New York Times 23 May 2002, Lateed.,sec. A: 30. Proquest Historical Newspapers. Atlanta. 13 Feb. 2008.

6."The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing." 4 Little Girls. Frogsmart. 14 Feb. 2008 <http://www.4littlegirls.com/>.

7.Brunner, Borgna. "Birmingham Church Bombing." Infoplease. 2007. Person Education Inc. 14 Feb. 2008 <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmjustice3.html>.

8. www.historylearningsite.co.uk/1963_birmingham_church_bombing.htm

9. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al11.htm

10. mediawashingtonpost.com/

11. http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/boothe/boothe121.jpg

12. http://www.kasd.org/~civilrights1/sclcsncc/sclcsncc_files/image002.jpg

13. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/273570543_f73dbb0a8c.jpg

14. www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm

15. http://www.old-picture.com/united-states-history-1900s---1930s/pictures/Ku-Klux-Klan.jpg

16. http://www.uwec.edu/freitard/GroupAndMinority/Birmingham/History/16th%20Street%20Church%202.jpg

17. http://www.kasd.org/~civilrights1/sclcsncc/sclcsncc_files/image002.jpg

16. http://www.old-picture.com/united-states-history-1900s---1930s/pictures/Ku-Klux-Klan.jpg

 

17.http://www.uwec.edu/freitard/GroupAndMinority/Birmingham/History/16th%20Street%20Church%202.jpg

18. The Bombing." The Crime Library. 2007. Turner Entertainment New Media Network. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/birmingham_church/4.html>