[22]:57 Although the Cahaba Boys had fewer than 30 active members,[60] among them were Thomas Blanton Jr., Herman Cash, Robert Chambliss, and Bobby Cherry. Alvin and Alpha Robertson, parents of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing victim Carole Robertson at the funeral for their daughter; Sept. 17, 1963. (Sims and Farley were later convicted of second-degree manslaughter,[47] although the judge suspended their sentences and imposed two years' probation upon each youth. [12] Black residents did not just experience segregation in the context of leisure and employment, but also in the context of their freedom and well-being. [73] Baxley formally reopened the case in 1971. This decision was later reversed. Pictured here are Johnny Robinson (left), 16, and Virgil Ware, 13. Last parent of a child killed in the Birmingham 16th Street - CNN Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry. Given the state's disenfranchisement of most Black people since the turn of the century, by making voter registration essentially impossible, few of the city's Black residents were registered to vote. Within one week of being sworn into office, Baxley had researched original police files into the bombing, discovering that the original police documents were "mostly worthless". Following Cook's testimony, Baxley introduced police sergeant Ernie Cantrell. [68] Later the same year, J. Edgar Hoover formally blocked any impending federal prosecutions against the suspects,[69] and refused to disclose any evidence his agents had obtained with state or federal prosecutors.[70]. The Cahaba Boys had formed earlier in 1963, as they felt that the KKK was becoming restrained and impotent in response to concessions granted to Black people to end racial segregation. Outrage over the incident and the violent clash between protesters and police that followed helped draw national attention to the hard-fought, often-dangerous struggle for civil rights for African Americans. The last convicted Birmingham church bomber has died in prison 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. A section of wire and remnants of red plastic were discovered there, which could have been part of a timing device. Pallbearers load a coffin into a hearse at a funeral for victims of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September, 1963. "Such heinous acts have added to the already heavy burden of fighting for the right of people to govern themselves," the statement read. Cross had attended the same Sunday School class as the four victims on the day of the bombing and was slightly wounded in the attack. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. ", 16th Street Baptist pastor John Cross said the bomber "did not only bomb the 16th Street Baptist Church, did not only kill these lovely, innocent girls, but somehow the world was shaken. Birmingham Bombing Anniversary Photos: 16th Street Church Then, Now But by September 20, the FBI was able to confirm that the explosion had been caused by a device that was purposely planted beneath the steps to the church,[59] close to the women's lounge. On April 10, 2001, Judge James Garrett indefinitely postponed Cherry's trial, pending further medical analysis. Petts then elaborated that the inspiration for the stained-glass image was a verse from the, On the 27th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, a state historic marker was unveiled at Greenwood Cemetery, the final resting place of three of the four victims of the bombing (Carole Robertson's body had been reburied in Greenwood Cemetery in 1974, following the death of her father). [7] Herman Cash died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. "[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. The church bombing was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabamas school system. The bombing occurred on Sept. 15, 1963, a Sunday, at the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had been a center of civil rights activity in Birmingham. Birmingham church bombing case was FBI triumph She spoke with News4's Molette Green about her fight for. You by your suffering have paid another installment in this great thing called freedom," said the Rev. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Photos of the tragedy 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. Now the Jury Must Decide", "Bobby Frank Cherry, 74, Klansman in Bombing, Dies", "Gary T. Rowe Jr., 64, Who Informed on Klan In Civil Rights Killing, Is Dead", "Long Fight Predicted In Case Against Rowe", "Paid FBI Informer Tells Of Murder, Silence", "Memorial Dedicated For Church Bombing Victims On Anniversary", "Siblings of the bombing: Remembering Birmingham church blast 50 years on", "Girl Living in Darkness After Church Bombing", "Alabama church bombing victims honoured by Welsh window", "American civil rights: the Welsh connection", "Death spares scrutiny of Cash in bomb probe", "Pastor Was At Church When Bomb Killed Four", United States Government Publishing Office, "A History of American Protest: When Nina Simone Sang what Everyone was Thinking", "American Guernica, LKM Music - Hal Leonard Online", "Still Reeling From the Day Death Came to Birmingham", "Television Review: A Father's Guilt; A Son's Wrenching Decision", "That Which Might Have Been, Birmingham 1963 - Phoenix, Arizona - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com", "Memorial project for 16th Street Baptist Church bombing raises $200,000 of $250,000 goal", "Four Spirits unveiled across from Sixteenth Street Baptist Church", "Four Spirits Statue, Memorial to 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Victims, Unveiled", Details of Robert Chambliss's 1979 appeal against his conviction, John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement, Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Council for United Civil Rights Leadership, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)", List of lynching victims in the United States, Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, African American founding fathers of the United States, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing&oldid=1150872665, African-American history in Birmingham, Alabama, Attacks on religious buildings and structures in the United States, Massacres in religious buildings and structures, Racially motivated violence against African Americans, September 1963 events in the United States, Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1963, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. Cherry, who now lives in Mabank, Texas, and another ex-Klansman, Thomas Blanton Jr., were indicted on murder charges two years ago. Jones reviewed Blanton's extensive history with the Ku Klux Klan, before referring to the audio recordings presented earlier in the trial. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. "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. Brogdon also testified that Cherry had told her of his regret that children had died in the bombing, before adding his satisfaction that they would never reproduce. "For the past several weeks, Gov. The blast killed four little girls and became a tragic marker in civil rights history.. [115] Blanton was confined in a one-man cell under tight security. In attendance were major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.[71] This legislation prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin; to ensure full, equal rights of African Americans before the law. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Blanton, however, hired a lawyer and refused to answer any questions. I didn't bomb that church. [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. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body being removed at 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The bomb injured at least 20 people and killed four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair. [62][63] At the time, no federal charges were filed against Chambliss or any of his fellow conspirators in relation to the bombing. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body removed from 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. [92], Robert Chambliss died in the Lloyd Noland Hospital and Health Center on October 29, 1985, at the age of 81. On the afternoon of May 22, after the jury had deliberated for almost seven hours, the forewoman announced they had reached their verdicts: Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, 68, who was 13 at the time. More than 1,000 people were present at the unveiling of the memorial, including survivors of the bombing, friends of the victims and the parents of Denise McNair, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware. Thomas told those gathered "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be loving, be kind, be innocent. All Rights Reserved. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be brought to trial. KKK members had routinely called in bomb threats intended to disrupt civil rights meetings as well as services at the church. Meanwhile, public outrage over the bombing continued to grow, drawing international attention to Birmingham. Noting that no timing device was found, he disputed the governments long-held theory the bomb was planted by KKK members hours before the explosion.Mr. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. "[17][51], Carole Rosamond Robertson was laid to rest in a private family funeral held on September 17, 1963. Upon learning of the bombing at the Church, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a telegram to Alabama Governor George Wallace, a staunch and vocal segregationist, stating bluntly: 'The blood of our little children is on your hands." The brutal attack and the deaths of the four little girls . A policeman and a neighbor had each testified that Chambliss was at the home of a man named Clarence Dill on that day. We all did it. Every person in this community who has in any way contributed during the past several years to the popularity of hatred is at least as guilty, or more so, than the demented fool who threw that bomb," Morgan said. [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. These demonstrations led to an agreement, on May 8, between the city's business leaders and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to integrate public facilities, including schools, in the city within 90 days.