IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE 4 LITTLE GIRLS OF 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

            On this date, September 15, 1963, four children were killed in the bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. We, the members of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will make them four of The 82 murdered children of Unit 1012, where we will not forget them.

16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Part of the Civil Rights Movement
The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left): Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair
Location	Birmingham, Alabama
Coordinates	33°31′0″N 86°48′54″WCoordinates: 33°31′0″N 86°48′54″W
Date	September 15, 1963; 56 years ago 10:22 a.m. (UTC-5)
Target	16th Street Baptist Church
Attack type	Bombing
Deaths	4
Injured	14–22
Victims	Addie Mae Collins Cynthia Wesley Carole Robertson Carol Denise McNair
Perpetrators	Thomas Blanton (convicted) Robert Chambliss (convicted) Bobby Cherry (convicted) Herman Cash (alleged)
Motive	Racism and support for racial segregation

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a white supremacist terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, September 15, 1963. Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.

Described by Martin Luther King Jr. as "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity", the explosion at the church killed four girls and injured between 14 and 22 other people.

Although the FBI had concluded in 1965 that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four known Klansmen and segregationists: Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry, no prosecutions were conducted until 1977, when Robert Chambliss was tried and convicted of the first-degree murder of one of the victims, 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair.

In a revival of effort by states and the federal government to prosecute cold cases from the civil rights era, the state conducted trials in the early 21st century of Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Cherry, who were each convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry. Herman Cash had died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing.

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point in the United States during the civil rights movement and contributed to support for passage by Congress of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing

Four girls, Addie Mae Collins (age 14, born April 18, 1949); Carol Denise McNair (age 11, born November 17, 1951); Carole Rosanond Robertson (age 14, born April 24, 1949); and Cynthia Dionne Wesley (age 14, born April 30, 1949), were killed in the attack. The explosion was so intense that one of the girls' bodies was decapitated and so badly mutilated that her body could be identified only through her clothing and a ring. Another victim was killed by a piece of mortar embedded in her skull. The pastor of the church, the Reverend John Cross, recollected in 2001 that the girls' bodies were found "stacked on top of each other, clung together". All four girls were pronounced dead on arrival at the Hillman Emergency Clinic.

 

The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left): Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair

[PHOTO: http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2018/sep/20/birmingham-memorial-service-remembers-4-little-gir/]

4 Little Girls is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the September 15, 1963 murder of four African-American girls (Addie May Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson) in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. It was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

The events inspired the 1964 song "Birmingham Sunday" by Richard and Mimi Fariña. The song was used in the opening sequence of the film, as sung by Joan Baez, Mimi's sister. They also inspired the 1963 tune "Alabama" by John Coltrane which is also included in the soundtrack.

4 Little Girls premiered Wednesday, June 25, 1997 at the Guild 50th Street Theatre in New York City. It was produced by 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Lee's production company, and Home Box Office (HBO).

In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Little_Girls

OTHER LINKS:

The last convicted Birmingham church bomber has died in prison

https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3105839759537969

June 29, 2020 Post - https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/2903449509776996

https://chicagocrusader.com/the-last-convicted-birmingham-church-bomber-has-died-in-prison/