Early Sunday, September 15, 1963, Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Herman Frank Cash, and Robert “Dynamite Bob” Chambliss, members of United Klans of America, a Ku Klux Klan group (an organization created to protect the rights and interests of white Americans by means of violence and intimidation), planted 122 sticks of dynamite outside the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
At about 10:22 a.m., the bomb exploded. Four little girls (pictured above L-R), Cynthia Wesley (aged 14), Carole Robertson (aged 14), Addie Mae Collins (aged 14) and Denise McNair (aged 11), were killed in the blast. Twenty-two others were injured. It was a crime that shocked the nation — and a defining moment in the history of America’s Civil Rights Movement.
Outrage at the bombing and the grief that followed resulted in violence across Birmingham, and two black boys were killed later that day. Sixteen-year-old Johnny Robinson was shot by police after throwing rocks at cars with white people inside, and two white teenage boys shot 13-year-old Virgil Wade, who was on a bike with his brother.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the eulogy for three of the girls (a separate service was held for Carole Robertson):
“This afternoon we gather in the quiet of this sanctuary to pay our last tribute of respect to these beautiful children of God. They entered the stage of history just a few years ago, and in the brief years that they were privileged to act on this mortal stage, they played their parts exceedingly well. Now the curtain falls; they move through the exit; the drama of their earthly life comes to a close. They are now committed back to that eternity from which they came.
These children-unoffending, innocent, and beautiful-were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”
Chambliss was initially charged with the murders but with no conviction. It wasn’t until 1978 that he was prosecuted and convicted of the murders and sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment; Chambliss died while in prison in 1985.
In 2000, the FBI helped state authorities bring charges against Cherry, Blanton and Cash after evidence against them was made public after it hadn’t been revealed to prosecutors on the order of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Blanton was convicted in 2001, sentenced to life in prison and is currently incarcerated. Cherry, convicted in 2001 and also sentenced to life, died in prison in 2004. Cash, a fourth suspect, was never charged and died in 1994.
In 1997, Spike Lee directed and produced the documentary, 4 Little Girls, which was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary”.
VIDEO ABOUT ‘THE 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH BOMBING’
And racism still lives on sad to say
The first time I heard about this story was when I saw Spike Lee’s Doc on it on HBO when I was a kid. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you do. It was excellent.
Sometimes I wonder what and who they would have become. This is why we need to respect ourselves and our race. These are the stories and tragedies that make me sad when we do not live up to the sacrifices others have made for us. Live well Black people.
this is so sad
why why did all this racism have to occur can’t we just love one another???
at the end of the day we ALL BLEED RED!
may they rest in peace!
makes me sad
THANKS J. Dakar, always bringing us back to what is really important.
I remember watching this documentary on HBO a few years back with my daughter, very deep. Especially hearing from the family of the 4 girls, had me in tears.
I remember watching this documentary on HBO, but I never knew about the two black boys that were killed the same day until now.
I really hate to hear stuff like this. Things like this make me it affirmative to me that the kids who are suing a swim club here in Philadelphia for racial discrimination deserve every bit of the $1.6 million that they’re asking for…if not more.
We’ve been going through this for too long!!!!
Wow, I just can’t imagine how such evil can take over one persons mind or how you could do that to someone else. All we need to remember is that the final judgement will come soon. Im glad that they were able to get the majority of members responsible. CL this is what sets you apart. Thank you Angel and Crew! Education is Key!
It’s commendable that y’all are highlighting this story and showing people how far we’ve come but how far we still have to go. My mother and aunt grew up in B’ham so I always hear the stories about the Civil Rights movement. My aunt actually grew up with those girls so it kinda hits close to home for me. It’s so disturbing that justice wasn’t served until 40 years after this tragedy. Those men were able to enjoy most of their years with no repercussions or punishment. It really goes to show how fucked up this gov’t and justice system are. RIP to those 4 girls.
This story still breaks my heart whenever I see it. Who knows what they wouldve become and done for society. They died in vain
the Spike Lee film is so sad…
Tragic story! Many events are still held to remember these four little girls in Birmingham in the month of September along with the many other racist acts that happened here!! It’s still unbelievable, innocence parished……if anyone ever stops in Birmingham be sure to check out the Civil Rights museum.
you know what is painful back then the black community was trying to stay alive and provide for their family, and fight for what they belived in, they had to fight to get what they want, while being torture, killed, and humiliated, they stayed strong though it all. now we get to this generation, and it’s not the white man we fear it’s each other, as a community the level of unity is no longer there, we as a community is dying, we can’t blame everthing on the white race either, it us, it’s up to us to step up to the plate and give our children something to look forward to, Obama is proof that we can change but it takes us a people to really make the change happen
Bigots are just moronic, self-hating, despicable savages.
And yet racism STILL thrives in today’s society. We have a black man as President but we still have a long way to go. Keep your eyes on the prize people!!
Posts like this really really make me love the loop because you guys put out all sorts of intriguing and creative stories. Even though this is a tragic event in our history, it does humble me to know part of our journey as African Americans.
— RIP , Little Angels
This literally just broke my heart. Almost to tears, the evil that exists in this world is beyond comprehendable.
Wow! America, you have come a long way, but have a long way to go. Last laugh’s on those KKK fools though, guess who their current President is?
I really miss post like this. Thanks for sharing!
This was a sad story the documentary still puts me in tears… RIP
BeautifulDaiDreamer, my father also played with those little girls and said Cynthia Wesley used to pick on him sometimes which I thought was cute. I agree totally, it felt closer to home. He gave me a chilling account of the moment he felt the blast even though he wasn’t near it. I can’t begin to imagine the terror he felt in that atmosphere.
And tomorrow you will have a lot of the people who are making comments talk about how ugly some dark person is.
WE can never forget the way we WERE treated compared to the way we are treated today, not much has changed
J. Edgar Hoover was a real SOB. He had too much power and control for too long.
This was a tragedy but do you see how young the first 3 look and they were 14 years old. The 14 year olds nowadays dress like they are at least 20.
I have only seen tidbits of the documentary thank you J and Angel for the post, I’m gonna see it again in full. Sad to say but as long as this world exist racism will exist, the devil stays busy. As a people we need to really rise up from the slave mentality and stop comparing oursleves to what white people think we should be or what our place should be.
RIP and blessings always to those young girls, the young boys and everyone who died as a part of the struggle.
May God have mercy on all of our souls.
and this is a continuance of a [america] on the comeback….. in hannitys america, and rush limpbraugh america. the serpent behind the so-called gold microphone has rallied up the white supremist groups about the white boy getting beat’n up on the school bus… well tell them [2] devils behind their hate talk radio shows. to go down to texas where 3 white devils were set free after dragging a blackman to his death . when they had another white male come in and said [he] hit the blackman , which was a lie and they all 4 walked free… satan is in charge down in them red states. or have them 2 serpents behind the [mic], look at the landscape and from philadelphia mississppi , where the judge who swore in the 1st black mayor in that evil city w/ his black robe on, but left his hood at home “refused to shake the new mayors hand”. or philadelphia pa. where they told the black kids, “we don’t want you in our swimming pool” this my people is the resurrgence of the race bigots america ….. that hate talk radio wants to return… this my friends is hannitys and rush limpbraghs “AMERICA”. DON’T get caught sleep in their world… these are 4 girls who didn’t die in vain. evil not conquer good hate radio.
THE GIRL IN THE BOTTOM PIC TO THE RIGHT RESEMBLES TICHINA ARNOLD
I used to be obsessed with this story when I was younger.
I didn’t understand how people could so cruel. It still saddens
me till this day. May their souls continue to RIP
Learned about this on SHAPE Center’s freed tour in 1992. Respect to Spike Lee for re-telling the story. America needs to hear this. People know your history. Know your history please
great post CL
Not much has changed. White ppl just put a new facade on their old crimes.
what other site gives you FASHION, ART, HEALTH, BEAUTY, BOOKS, MUSIC & HISTORY…… CL is the fcukin BEST!
A tragic and extremely significant event in civil rights history. Watching the documentary, the pain of the deceased girls’ loved ones is still very fresh after all these years.
I remember watching the movie in school
This just show you what evil can do, so sad!
~RIP 4 Little Angels~
You will never be forgotten!
—-Lol, no disrespect to you, you can moderate the comment, delete the comment,
—-etc. You can’t delete the truth. If the girls were sacrificed for the agenda, that’s
—-what it was. Real understanding brings real knowledge. Shows that certain people
—-just want to emote.
i hope the readers on cl who post hate everyday against other black people like themselves learn from this…..black people have gone through so much just because of the colour of their skin, and still today in 2009 u have black people bashing one another and spewing so much hate and negativety against one another, especially here on cl at times….
This is one of the reasons you are one of the best ( top three for me) blogs out there. Period.
@JUDAH, THEY DID THE SAME THING TO ALL MY COMMENTS ON HERE AND OTHER SITES.THEY CAN’T DELETE THE TRUTH.BUT KNOW WE SPREAD THE WORD, ITS TO LATE FOR THEM TO TRY AND CENSOR.THE TRUTH IS REAL, GOSSIP IS MADE UP, OR OTHERS MISFOURTUNES.BUT THEY GETTIN MONEY
Wow.
TRAGIC!! R.I.P TO THE 4 LITTLE GIRLS….:-)
Ugh, I live in Birmingham (born and raised) and I must say that Alabama is still the most backward-thinking state in the country. As soon as I graduate from UAB, I am hopping on a plane and not looking back.
my heart hurts everytime i see or hear this story..that edgar hoover was a useless coward and i know he’s burning in hell for all the lives he ruined!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No one is deleting any comments.
Comments over a certain length and those that contain certain words are automatically flagged and held for moderation. If you post a comment, and you don’t see it on the site, it’s because it was automatically withheld from being published, not because Angel, Brian or I deleted it.
Such a sad story. I’m glad J. Dakar decided to write about it. I knew about the story of the girls being BRUTALLY MURDERED but never about the death of the two young black male teens. Thank You guys for informing me; I’ve got to find a way to find that documentary in it’s entirety.
MY GREAT GRANFATHER WAS SHOT 50 TIMES WITH 3 DIFFERENT GUNS AND THEN LYNCH, JUST FOR BEING A STRONG, WEALTHLY FARMER AT THAT TIME.SO MANY OF YA’LL ON THIS SITE GOT FAMILY THIS HAPPENED TO, BUT WE DONT DIG THAT DEEP ANYMORE TO REALLY FIND OUR TRUE IDENTITY, BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN DUMBED DOWN,THERES MILLIONS OF STORIES JUST LIKE THIS JUST LOOK.CL SHOULD BE THE ONLY SOUCE OF BLACK HISTORY, OUR ANCESTOR BUILT THIS PLACE, THE BRICK ROAD IN ATLANTA, WHITE HOUSE AND ALL ITS CONNECTING HOUSE BUILT BY SLAVES,THE UNITED STATES.
this story has always been a tragedy for me to hear. those girls would have been 60 years old. they could have been mothers.. they were robbed of their lives..
Those little girls look like 6 years old and younger.. Look at the way they do their hair. you don’t see 14yrs old girls dress like that anymore..
This makes me want to cry, and the killing thing about it is, there is still racism from all kinds of ppl 2 day in this world.
Spike Lee film about the crime was good!
Im glad you posted this, its just hard to imagine such cruel things like this happening but its all very real and very sad
Wow I can’t believe some people never heard of this until the Spike Lee film! Then again my family was always very involved in the civil rights movement so I was always very aware of things like this (and there are thousands of stories like this that you will never hear about).
It’s 2009 and racism is still just as alive and well as it was in 1963.
For instance the white man that beat a black woman in front of her daughter at Cracker Barrel here in Atlanta (Morrow for those who are familiar with GA). The messed up part about it is that no one stepped up to help her. Since he called her a n*gger they are trying to prosecute it as a hate crime. Disgusting.
This is what President Obama needs to talk specifically about ~our~ history as a nation, to all those dumbass Republican, and even Democrat Politician willing to do ANYTHING, even call the ~nation’s~ president a lier and compare him to Hitler. I’m so sick of this pety shit. People the only what to stop it is to use your given right and NOT vote for these sheep bastards!!!
As stated, while a lot has changed, it’s very well the same. Thanks for this, CL.
That’s what I love about CL you guys always put something on here that show how far we come from as a people you put a little history on here. Keep it up you are not like other sits
@3, I COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER, ITS AS IF THE MOVEMENT WAS ALL IN VAIN
We must never forget the hateful legacy of this country past, because it still exist today.
This post made me cry by just reading it. I don’t understand how people are so cruel. I’m hispanic and it hurts me that this happened and it’s still going on.