Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing The Civil Rights Movement contained hundreds of events that affected the lives of millions of blacks and whites. Many people know about the “March on Washington” or MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Some critical events during this time period were not so peaceful or uplifting though. Lots of events included deaths, explosions, bombs, or just plain sadness and tragedy. The events, causes, and results of the Sixteenth Street church bombing, which occurred in the 1960’s, were an important part of the Civil Rights Movement in America. The Birmingham church bombing was a major event in the Civil Rights Movement. On Sunday, September 15th, 1963 a bombing occurred at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the seventh bombing in Birmingham within six months! About 200 members of the church were in the building on this horrific day (History.com 2). Most were going to Sunday school or preparing for the 11am service. Four girls, wearing white, were preparing for their church’s annual youth-day worship service. They were getting ready in a bathroom underneath a staircase. A Caucasian man had been seen getting out of a turquoise Chevrolet and placing a box somewhere around the church earlier this day. At around 10:22 am, a box of fifteen dynamite sticks with a timer hooked to them exploded at the church (Hampton and Fayer 171). The detonation of the bomb happened on the east side of the church, under the girls’ rest room. A small tunnel had been dug to place it there. Some of the injuries and damages to the building were caused by tons of bricks and mortar soaring through the air. Multiple walls were destroyed or caved in along with a bathroom under the staircase during the explosion. Most of the church members had been able to exit the church before it was completely filled with smoke, but some were not so lucky. A total of twenty-two people were injured during the bombing; one of them being Sarah Collins, who was ten years old, losing her right eye (Wikipedia 1). Unfortunately, four girls were killed in the church. Addie May Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley were all fourteen years old. Denise Mclair was only eleven. Robert Chamberliss, a Klu Klux Klan (KKK) member that was nicknamed “Dynamite Bob” for always having so much dynamite in his possession, was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to life in prison in 1977. On May 17th, 2000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that the KKK “Splinter” group, the Cahaba boys, were all responsible for the crime. Robert Chamberliss, Herman Cash, Thomas Blanton, and Bobby Cherry were the men in this club. This corrupt church bombing happened for multiple reasons. In the 1960’s, Birmingham was one of the nation’s most racist and segregated cities. Birmingham was actually nick-named “Bombingham” because the city was known for so many bombings of black churches and homes. Because there would be no fingerprints or faces seen, bombing the church could have kept people from knowing who did the crime. This city also had an extremely violent and active KKK that was willing to do most anything for their beliefs. Threats to bomb the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church from the KKK had been made before but never pursued. At the time, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was the largest African American church in Birmingham. For this reason, many meetings took place there. Civil Rights activists such as Martin Luther King (MLK), Ralph David Abernathy, and Fred Shutterworth used this church as a meeting place. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) meeting, which took place at the church, made KKK members angry. The SCLC and CORE meetings discussed a campaign to allow blacks to vote in the city. Some Civil Rights marches that took place in Birmingham literally started on the steps of the church (History.com 2). Protesters from these marches and the city police would fight on a regular basis in Kelly Ingram Park, which was across the street from the church. These many reasons might have caused this bombing to occur. The infamous Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing made enormous positive and negative impacts on the Civil Rights Movement. After the bombing, thousands of furious protesters and citizens came to the church which had caused violence to break out. Many black neighborhoods were nervous that whites or KKK members would come and cause even more destruction and chaos. To keep this from happening, guards were set up around these communities. Because of all the riots, the governor of Alabama, George Wallace, had to send 300 state troopers, 150 state deputies, 500 police officers, and 500 National Guards to Birmingham. Two more black children were killed seven hours after the incident. Johnny Robinson, 16 years old, was supposedly shot because he was throwing rocks at cars and wouldn’t stop when told to. Vigil Ware, 13 years old, was killed after riding his bike away from a riot. Cars all over town (owned by whites) were left destroyed after angry citizens threw things at them like Johnny Robinson did. The deaths and injuries of this heinous crime attention from all over the world. A magazine/newspaper from Vatican, Rome called this horrible incident “a massacre of the innocents” (Holland 1). Many people had different opinions or thoughts about this bombing. James Bevel said, “The bombing felt like a personal insult.” “There was a feeling of real bitter outrage at the killing of these four girls,” said Burke Marshall (Hampton and Fayer 1-3).The fact that no one was charged of the crime until over ten years later also outraged and disgusted some civilians. A decade later, Robert Chamberliss was finally convicted of the murders. Almost thirty-eight years later, Blanton and Cherry were finally found guilty and received life in jail. The fourth member that had helped with the crime had passed away before he could be charged. Chamberliss died while he was in jail. He never admitted to committing the crime. Over eight thousand white and black mourners and policemen walked the streets to pay their respects to the victims after they had died. John F. Kennedy had given a speech a day after the deaths about the bombing and Civil Rights in general. MLK went to the funerals of three of the girls’ funerals and said small speeches at each of them. Eventually, the girls who died on September 15th, 1963 were each given Congressional Gold Medals. This award is the highest honor that congress can give to someone. The bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama happened because many people were oblivious to how their actions could hurt and change the lives of hundreds and thousands of individuals. This critical event influenced people and other events in the later weeks and months of the Civil Rights Movement. “The limited life chances of those faces represent sad proof that the movement’s victories weren’t total, but that much more remains to be done.” (Wexler xi) Just remember that because this horrible event occurred, people today better understand that their actions or ideas can affect the lives of others.