A day after the tragedy, President Kennedy spoke of his "outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. 16th Street Baptist Church bombing - Wikipedia Cherrys trial was delayed after judges ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. [126] Cherry remained stoic as the sentence was read aloud. (Thomas Blanton had owned a Chevrolet in 1963;[108] neither Chambliss, Cash nor Cherry had owned such a vehicle. Many of the civil rights protest marches that took place in Birmingham during the 1960s began at the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had long been a significant religious center for the citys Black population and a routine meeting place for civil rights organizers like King. [17] Other acts of violence followed the settlement, and several staunch Klansmen were known to have expressed frustration at what they saw as a lack of effective resistance to integration.[18]. [37] In her later recollections of the bombing, Collins would recall that in the moments immediately before the explosion, she had watched her sister, Addie, tying her dress sash. Jones repeated the most damning statements Blanton had made in these recordings, before pointing at Blanton and stating: "That is a confession out of this man's mouth. [11] The intentional scope of these activities was to see the end of segregation across Birmingham and the South as a whole. [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. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Alabama Governor George Wallace was a leading foe of desegregation, and Birmingham had one of the strongest and most violent chapters of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). 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. Farrell Griswold, pastor of Minor Heights Baptist, told the crowd. [61] Although he met with initial resistance from the FBI,[50]:278 in 1976 Baxley was formally presented with some of the evidence which had been compiled by the FBI, after he publicly threatened to expose the Department of Justice for withholding evidence which could result in the prosecution of the perpetrators of the bombing.[76]. [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. I haven't done anything! Birmingham "is synonymous to barbarism" and "needs to be protected against itself," said New York City Mayor Robert Wagner. He was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing and did maintain his innocence. This decision was later reversed. "[104], In addition to calling attention to flaws in the prosecution's case, the defense exposed inconsistencies in the memories of some prosecution witnesses who had testified. The crime was calculated, not random. Yet the men. How Doug Jones Brought KKK Church Bombers to Justice - History Cochran also added that although the evidence to be presented would not conclusively show that Cherry had personally planted or ignited the bomb, the combined evidence would illustrate that he had aided and abetted in the commission of the act. He was 82 years old. Two more violent deaths that day Later that day, 13-year-old Virgil Ware, riding on the. According to Vann's later testimony, Chambliss was standing "looking down toward the church, like a firebug watching his fire". But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [11], Black and white residents of Birmingham had access to different public amenities such as water fountains and places of public gathering such as movie theaters. In attendance were 1,600 people. The deaths in a sense, are on the hands of each of 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. [73] Baxley formally reopened the case in 1971. The intention was to fill the jail with protesters. Precisely because of its reputation as a stronghold for white supremacy, civil rights activists made Birmingham a major focus of their efforts to desegregate the Deep South. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Alabama sidesteps compensation for survivor of 1963 KKK Birmingham In the aftermath of the bombing, thousands of angry Black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing. [107], The trial lasted for one week. [127], When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Cherry motioned to the prosecutors and stated: "This whole bunch lied through this thing [the trial]. Birmingham church bombing case was FBI triumph 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. The Birmingham church bombing occurred on September 15, 1963, when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabamaa church with a. Wallace and Birmingham, meanwhile, faced growing criticism nationwide. [129] In this role, Rowe acted as an agent provocateur between 1961[130] and 1965. 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). 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. Homemade bombs planted by white supremacists in homes and churches became so commonplace that the city was sometimes known as Bombingham. Local African American churches such as the 16th Street Baptist Church were fundamental in the organization of much of the protest activity. terrorist attack, Birmingham, Alabama, United States [1963]. the 41st bombing in the city in the past 16 years, Virgil Ware, riding on the handlebars of a bicycle, outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. )[22]:63. [132] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. 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. Four black girls in Alabama had been killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church a crime that shocked the country and helped fuel the civil rights movement. He said this past was not the evidence upon which they should return their verdicts. Denise, was among four girls killed in the bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church nearly 60 years ago. "This bombing of children was a dastardly act.". [98] The following day, both men surrendered to police. Martin Luther King Jr. said he hoped the deaths "may well serve as the redemptive force that brings light to this dark city.". Doug Jones, the Alabama Senate race and the 1963 Birmingham church 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. An anti-integration demonstration planned in Midfield for that night was cancelled, but not before someone hanged President Kennedy in effigy before a cheering crowd. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 203 Birmingham Church Bombing Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images [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. She was 93. . 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Inside the ER where four dead girls were brought 51 years ago today Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Four girls were killed when a bomb exploded at an Alabama church in 1963. [7] Herman Cash died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, newly-inaugurated President Lyndon Johnson continued to press for passage of the civil rights bill sought by his predecessor. [21] The anonymous caller simply said the words, "Three minutes"[22]:10 to Maull before terminating the call. At 10:22 a.m. on the morning of September 15, 1963, some 200 church members were in the buildingmany attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11 am servicewhen the bomb detonated on the churchs east side, spraying mortar and bricks from the front of the church and caving in its interior walls. Vernon Merritt photo, More than 1,600 people attended the memorial service for Carole Rosamond Robertson on Sept. 17, 1963. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". The citys police commissioner, Eugene Bull Connor, was notorious for his willingness to use brutality in combating radical demonstrators, union members and any Black citizens. Victim in 1963 Alabama Church Bombing Seeks State Restitution - The New Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. 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. The act of terror by four members of the KKK at the. The bomb that demolished the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church downstairs lounge, shattered the sanctuary's stained-glass windows, hurled large chunks of stone into nearby automobiles and. Oval photographs and brief biographies of the four girls killed in the explosion, the most seriously injured survivor (Sarah Collins), and the two teenage boys who were shot to death later that day also adorn the base of the sculpture. The church's pastor, the Reverend John Cross Jr., attempted to placate the crowd by loudly reciting the 23rd Psalm through a bullhorn. This appeal was dismissed on May 22, 1979. Two young Black men were killed that night, one by police and another by racist thugs. At least 14 others are injured in. Another 22 people were injured in the explosion. [30] Another victim was killed by a piece of mortar embedded in her skull. Forty-seven years ago this week, on Sept. 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The files were sealed by order of J. Edgar Hoover. On May 22, 2002, Cherry was convicted and sentenced to life, bringing a long-awaited victory to the friends and families of the four young victims. )[16], These demonstrations and the concessions from city leaders to the majority of demonstrators' demands were met with fierce resistance by other whites in Birmingham. The four girls between the ages of 11 and 14 became innocent victims and emblems of the racist hatred. Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer was a research editor at Encyclopdia Britannica. [29] 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. "[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. 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? Melanie Peeples reports. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), A newspaper clipping shows police officers in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. [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]. The case was reopened in 1980, in 1988, and finally again in 1997, when two other former clan membersThomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherrywere brought to trial. (The physical description by witnesses of this person varied, and could have matched either Bobby Cherry or Robert Chambliss. Both named individuals were charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and four counts of universal malice. For more on the ceremony, please visit this story. He referred to testimony given by her father, Chris McNair, about the family's loss, and requested that the jury return a verdict of guilty.[86]. [27] Several other cars parked near the site of the blast were destroyed, and windows of properties located more than two blocks from the church were also damaged. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. Robinson, aged 16, was shot in the back by a policeman as he fled down an alley,[43] after ignoring police orders to halt. Although Baxley knew he had insufficient evidence to charge Blanton at this stage, he intended the subpoena to frighten Blanton into confessing his involvement and negotiating a plea deal to turn state evidence against his co-conspirators. [81] He testified that Chambliss had visited his headquarters in 1976 and that he had attempted to affix the blame for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing upon an altogether different member of the KKK. 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. 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. Officially, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remained unsolved until after William Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama in January 1971. Birmingham Church Bombing - History The Birmingham church bombing occurred on September 15, 1963, when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabamaa church with a predominantly Black congregation that also served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Photos: 1963 Birmingham church bombing | CNN [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. [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. (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. Efforts to prosecute the other three men believed responsible for the bombing continued for decades. Click Meanwhile, public outrage over the bombing continued to grow, drawing international attention to Birmingham. Long-delayed trial of former Ku Klux Klansman Thomas Blanton Jr in fatal 1963 bombing of black Birmingham, Ala, church opens; another of 4 original suspects, Robert Chambliss, was convicted in . In the early morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, four members of the United Klans of AmericaThomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Robert Edward Chambliss,[19] Bobby Frank Cherry, and (allegedly) Herman Frank Cashplanted a minimum of 15 sticks[20] of dynamite with a time delay under the steps of the church, close to the basement. On November 14, 1977, Robert Chambliss, then aged 73, stood trial in Birmingham's Jefferson County Courthouse. [88] He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. He said that the sections introduced as evidence were of poor audio quality, resulting in the prosecution presenting text transcripts of questionable accuracy to the jury. Immediately after the blast, church members wandered dazed and bloodied, covered with white powder and broken stained glass, before starting to dig in the rubble to search for survivors. Also, at that time, information from our surveillance was not admissible in court. Other witnesses obtained identified Chambliss as the individual who had placed the bomb beneath the church. Following Cook's testimony, Baxley introduced police sergeant Ernie Cantrell. He became a paid FBI informant in 1961. Seven witnesses testified on behalf of the prosecution, and two for the defense. [41] The Birmingham City Council convened an emergency meeting to propose safety measures for the city, although proposals for a curfew were rejected. Many of the same audiotapes presented in Blanton's trial were also introduced into evidence in the trial of Bobby Cherry. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News) ORG XMIT: ALBIN, Original caption: Negros weep after 16th Street church bombing. 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. Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was brought to trial in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett on April 24, 2001. I'm shot," he told his brother James with his dying breath. A fourth suspect died without being charged. The other victims were Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson. Flying debris nearly demolishes vehicles and leaves cars dotted with large holes.
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