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"It was just a matter of time," said Pastor John H. Cross of the bombing. All Rights Reserved. Before his trial, Chambliss remained free upon a $200,000 bond raised by family and supporters and posted October 18. The Birmingham church bombing shocked the nation during the fight for the Civil Rights. I don't know why I'm going to jail for nothing. ), Both counsels delivered their closing arguments before the jury on May 1. On September 15, 1963, a bomb explodes during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls: Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Carol Denise McNair (11). (The first three schools in Birmingham to be integrated would do so on September 4. [104] He said: "You've got to have a meeting to plan a bomb. [100] It concluded that vascular dementia had impaired his mind, therefore making Cherry mentally incompetent to stand trial or assist in his own defense.[101]. [26], The explosion blew a hole measuring seven feet (2.1m) in diameter in the church's rear wall, and a crater five feet (1.5m) wide and two feet (0.61m) deep in the ladies' basement lounge, destroying the rear steps to the church and blowing a passing motorist out of his car. [25] According to one survivor, the explosion shook the entire building and propelled the girls' bodies through the air "like rag dolls". Grief will not prevail. Life is hard. [67]), Although both Blanton and Cherry denied their involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, until his death in 1985, Robert Chambliss repeatedly insisted that the bombing had been committed by Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. Rowe had been encouraged to join the Klan by acquaintances in 1960. Or, continue scrolling for the photos of the historic event. Baxley also gathered evidence proving Chambliss had purchased dynamite from a store in Jefferson County less than two weeks before the bomb was planted,[74] upon the pretext the dynamite was to be used to clear land the KKK had purchased near Highway 101. After Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley reopened the case, Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison. [8] When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Congress on Racial Equality became involved in a campaign to register African Americans to vote in Birmingham, tensions in the city increased. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point in the United States during the civil rights movement and also contributed to support for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Congress. Twenty-one people died when two bombs were detonated in Birmingham in 1974 On 21 November 1974, two bombs ripped through the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham, killing 21. Fred Shuttlesworth. Baxley noted that the day of the closing argument fell upon what would have been Carol Denise McNair's 26th birthday and that she would have likely been a mother by this date. One of several vehicles severely damaged in the explosion was found to have carried fishing tackle.[122]). At approximately 10:22a.m., an anonymous man phoned the 16th Street Baptist Church. [126], Following the convictions of Blanton and Cherry, Alabama's former Attorney General, William Baxley, expressed his frustration that he had never been informed of the existence of the FBI audio recordings before they were introduced in the 2001 and 2002 trials. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be tried. Following these closing arguments, the jury retired to consider their verdicts. The call was answered by the acting Sunday School secretary, a 14-year-old girl named Carolyn Maull. [50]:272, The service for Carole Rosamond Robertson was held at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. "[124] Johnson reiterated that there was no hard evidence linking Cherry to the bombing, but only evidence attesting to his racist beliefs dating from that era, adding that the family members who had testified against him were all estranged and therefore should be considered unreliable witnesses. "[44] A Milwaukee Sentinel editorial opined, "For the rest of the nation, the Birmingham church bombing should serve to goad the conscience. Although never formally named as one of the conspirators by the FBI, Rowe's record of deception on the polygraph tests leaves open the possibility that Chambliss's claims may have held a degree of truth. Blanton, however, hired a lawyer and refused to answer any questions. In a speech conducted before the burials of the girls, King addressed an estimated 3,300[56] mournersincluding numerous white peoplewith a speech saying: This tragic day may cause the white side to come to terms with its conscience. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. "[99] Cross testified that she would usually have accompanied her friends into the basement lounge to change into robes for the forthcoming sermon, but she had been given an assignment. "[109], Defense attorney John Robbins reminded the jury in his closing argument that his client was an admitted segregationist and a "loudmouth", but that was all that could be proven. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was examined by director Spike Lee in the Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls (1997). Many of the same audiotapes presented in Blanton's trial were also introduced into evidence in the trial of Bobby Cherry. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. [36] She had 21 pieces of glass embedded in her face and was blinded in one eye. "If these cruel and tragic events can only awaken that city and state -- if they can only awaken this entire nation -- to a realization of the folly of racial injustice and hatred and violence, then it is not too late for all concerned to unite in steps toward peaceful progress before more lives are lost," Kennedy said. One week before the bombing, Wallace granted an interview with The New York Times, in which he said he believed Alabama needed a "few first-class funerals" to stop racial integration. It was meant to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations, and ensure that old fears would be propelled forward into the next generation.[146]. Most crucially, Blanton can also be heard saying that he was not with Miss Vaughn but, two nights before the bombing, was at a meeting with other Klansmen on a bridge above the Cahaba River. Jones reviewed Blanton's extensive history with the Ku Klux Klan, before referring to the audio recordings presented earlier in the trial. [75]:574, Chambliss appealed his conviction, as provided under the law, saying that much of the evidence presented at his trialincluding testimony relating to his activities within the KKKwas circumstantial; that the 14-year delay between the crime and his trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial; and the prosecution had deliberately used the delay to try to gain an advantage over Chambliss's defense attorneys. About the recordings made as Blanton conversed with Burns, Robbins emphasized that Burns had earlier testified that Blanton had never expressly said that he had made or planted the bomb. Published: Sep. 15, 2022, 1:26 p.m. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. All but one of the church's stained-glass windows were destroyed in the explosion. Gov. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Jurors in the murder trial of a former Ku Klux Klansman were shown grisly morgue photos yesterday of the four black girls killed in a 1963 church bombing.It was calculated to produce death, Coroner Robert Brissie said of the bomb. [132] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. The other victims were Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". The files were sealed by order of J. Edgar Hoover. She was 93. . Although Cash is known to have passed a polygraph test in which he was questioned as to his potential involvement in the bombing, The Reverend John Cross, who had been the pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church at the time of the 1963 bombing, died of natural causes on November 15, 2007. Addie Mae Collins was one of the four little girls murdered in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing back in 1963. Four black girls. [52] Reportedly, Carole's mother, Alpha, had expressly requested that her daughter be buried separately from the other victims. Baxley acknowledged that typical juries in 1960s Alabama would have likely leaned in favor of both defendants, even if these recordings had been presented as evidence,[128] but said that he could have prosecuted Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry in 1977 if he had been granted access to these tapes. It was part of a coordinated effort between local, state and federal governments to review cold cases of the civil rights era in the hopes of prosecuting perpetrators. These instructions were relayed to the crowd present by a single youth with a bullhorn. [41] The Birmingham City Council convened an emergency meeting to propose safety measures for the city, although proposals for a curfew were rejected. Original caption: The damaged interior of the church is shown in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. Original caption: NEWS FILE/TOM SELF A stained glass window bears testament to a bomb's damage; Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, September 15, 1963. "[124] Cochran outlined Cherry's extensive record of racial violence dating back to the 1950s, and noted that he had experience and training in constructing and installing bombs from his service as a Marine demolition expert. Blanton was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison.Klansman Robert Chambliss was convicted of murder in the bombing in 1977 and died in prison. President Barack Obama would go on to sign a bill awarding the four young victims of the tragic 1963 Birmingham church bombing with the Congressional Gold Medal.. Barbara Cross, a friend of the girls who survived the church bombing, once recounted to TIME how close she was to possibly being the fifth person killed. The NAACP questioned the speed of the investigation and whether all resources available were being utilized. Demonstrators present were given instructions to march to downtown Birmingham and discuss with the mayor their concerns about racial segregation in the city, and to integrate buildings and businesses currently segregated. Less than one minute later, the bomb exploded. [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. After Baxley requested access to the original FBI files on the case, he learned that evidence accumulated by the FBI against the named suspects between 1963 and 1965 had not been revealed to the local prosecutors in Birmingham. "Darkness will not last forever. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. The service honoring Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley and two young boys killed shortly after the bombing, Johnny Robinson Jr. and Virgil Ware, recognized Birmingham as the center of the Civil Rights movement and emphasized that the march to justice and equality of all people is not over. Farrell Griswold, pastor of Minor Heights Baptist, told the crowd. "The answer should be, "We all did it." But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The first of these witnesses was Tom Cook, a retired Birmingham police officer, who testified on November 15 as to a conversation he had had with Chambliss in 1975. The church bombing was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabamas school system. [28], Four girlsAddie Mae Collins (age 14, born April 18, 1949), Carol Denise McNair (age 11, born November 17, 1951), Carole Rosamond Robertson (age 14, born April 24, 1949), and Cynthia Dionne Wesley (age 14, born April 30, 1949)were killed in the attack. (The physical description by witnesses of this person varied, and could have matched either Bobby Cherry or Robert Chambliss. The tragic 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, helped set America on a course toward passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.. And despite the personal tragedy the bombing caused the McNair family, it set them on a path of spreading love, understanding and racial unity to people across the country. The Rev. [116], His first parole hearing was held on August 3, 2016. Don Cochran disputed this position, arguing that Alabama law provides for "conspiracies to conceal evidence" to be proven by both inference and circumstantial evidence. [1][2][3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.[4]. [77] But at a pre-trial hearing on October 18,[78] Judge Wallace Gibson ruled that the defendant would be tried upon one count of murderthat of Carol Denise McNair[78]and that the remaining three counts of murder would remain, but that he would not be charged in relation to these three deaths. Another 22 people were injured in the explosion. The blast killed four little girls and became a tragic marker in civil rights history.. An estimated 2,000 Black people converged on the scene in the hours following the explosion. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Updates? That same day, news reports described the federal hunt for the bombers as rivaling the search for John Dillinger. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into effect the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Chris McNair and his wife, Maxine, hold a photograph of their daughter Denise the day after her death in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham . Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. As Birmingham took on the appearance of a battle zone, with hundreds of police, troopers and guardsmen patrolling the streets, another black teen, Johnny Robinson, was shot to death by police. At least 14 others are injured in. Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do? [11] Their demands included that public amenities such as lunch counters and parks be desegregated, the criminal charges against demonstrators and protestors should be removed, and an end to overt discrimination with regards to employment opportunities. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at the funeral of three of the girls. In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. terrorist attack, Birmingham, Alabama, United States [1963]. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body removed from 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. C.E. He and two acquaintances, John Hall and Charles Cagle, were each convicted in state court upon a charge of illegally possessing and transporting dynamite on October 8. His famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail was published in the national press, along with shocking images of police brutality against protesters in Birmingham that helped build widespread support for the civil rights cause. [106] The defense portrayed the audiotapes introduced into evidence as the statements of "two rednecks driving around, drinking" and making false, ego-inflating claims to one another. The Aftermath. "[17][51], Carole Rosamond Robertson was laid to rest in a private family funeral held on September 17, 1963. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Fifteen sticks of dynamite were planted in the church basement, underneath what turned out to be the girls restroom. The Birmingham campaign, the March on Washington in August, the September bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church, and the November assassination of John F. Kennedyan ardent supporter of the civil rights cause who had proposed a Civil Rights Act of 1963 on national television[71]increased worldwide awareness of and sympathy toward the civil rights cause in the United States. King later spoke before 8,000 people at the funeral for three of the girls (the family of the fourth girl held a smaller private service), fueling the public outrage now mounting across the country.