Please click on the section that you would like to visit. Home Page Civil Rights....Civil Wrongs Main Page Food For Thought Speeches, Writing And Thoughts Black Sports In Alabama Black Alabama's Heroes Links My Resume Contact Us Support thatsalabama.com	THE BIRMINGHAM CHURCH BOMBING September 15, 1963 - The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Is Bombed By The Klu Klux Klan. Of all the horrific acts that were committed during the long history of the civil rights struggle, this was almost certainly the worst. It caused outrage across the globe and galvanized the civil rights movement. Denise McNair, 11, and 14-year-olds Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins were in the basement of the church, preparing for their Sunday School lesson, when a bomb placed by members of the Klu Klux Klan exploded, killing all four. The horrific and cowardly attack led to civil unrest in the city by both blacks and segregationalists in which 2 more black youths died. A 16 year old black male, Johnny Robinson was shot by the police, and at about the same time, a 13 year old boy named Virgil Ware was also shot and killed. In 1965, the Birmingham FBI recommended that at least 4 men be charged in connection with the attack, but FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, blocked the prosecution saying that it would have little chance of success. Later, a U.S. Justice Department report found that Hoover had blocked evidence that prosecutors could have used. Unbelievably, it wasn't until 1977, that the first conviction, that of Robert Edward Chambliss was obtained. In 1988, whilst dying of cancer, Gary A. Tucker admitted his involvement in the bombing. Next, in May 2001, Thomas Blanton Jr. is convicted of murder. Finally, in May, 2002, the last of the four bombers, Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted, some 39 years after the bombing took place. Links To Some Other Internet Resources On The Birmingham Church Bombing: In The Memory Of Four Little Girls. We Shall Overcome - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Africanaonline - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing September 15, 1963. 4LittleGirls.com African-American History - The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing. SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here:   Web www.thatsalabama.com If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button:

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