After decades of neglect, the cemetery records were found to be incomplete and the location of the body had been lost. 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. And weve watched with horror as a wave of deadly violence takes the lives of innocent people time and time again in Charleston, South Carolina; in Charlottesville, Virginia; in Poway, California; in El Paso, Texas and in Pittsburgh. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). The murders touched off nationwide outrage. This is how we can honor Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and the countless others who have lost their lives to the hands of hate. Oops, we were unable to send the email. George Wallacefor creating the toxic climate that led to the church bombing. In January 1998, the sisters frowned as they surveyed the crumbling headstones, trash, and tangled weeds strangling Greenwood, the Birmingham, Alabama, cemetery in which their family had long ago laid their sister, Addie Mae Collins. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Fifteen sticks of dynamite were planted in the church basement, underneath what turned out to be the girls restroom. On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, 14-year-old Collins was in the church basement room with a group of other children. Failed to delete memorial. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Then people began to search through the rubble for victims. The bomb went off on a Sunday morning, killing Denise McNair, 11, and Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley, all 14. . Meanwhile, public outrage over the bombing continued to grow, drawing international attention to Birmingham. Make sure that the file is a photo. Addie Mae Collins was a 14-year-old murder victim whose 1963 death focused public attention on racial violence in the South. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley were interred during joint funeral attended by over 8,000 mourners. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Civil rights leaders tried to channel the grief and rage that spread through the black community, but there was little comfort in their efforts. With California booming, thanks to the 1849 Gold Rush, Americans east and west had been clamoring for read more, Mary Clarissa Agatha Miller, later known as Agatha Christie, is born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay, Devon, England. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. There was a problem getting your location. Family members linked to this person will appear here. of YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. But it's worth noting, as we think about racism and the way it tends to work in America today that is, as entrenched systems and socially supported biases, rather than as intentional expressions of overt hatred that there are still some big disparities in which people end up as med school cadavers and organ donors. She attended the 16th Street Baptist Church with her parents, Julius and Alice, as well as her six siblings. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. He attended college at Yale University, graduating second in his class. This year, relatives of Addie Mae Collins, one of the girls that was killed, wanted to move her body to another burial site and found that it wasn't there. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. license except where otherwise noted. The man at right is unidentified. In a few minutes, the worship service would begin. A day after the tragedy, President Kennedy spoke of his "outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing. Fred Shuttlesworth, left, and Ralph Abernathy as they attend funeral services at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church for three of the four Black girls killed in the church bombing. The right computer monitor canmake or READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. What did Charles Morgan mean when he said, We all did it every person in this community who has in any way contributed to the popularity of hatred is at least as guilty as the demented fool who threw that bomb? Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley were interred during joint funeral attended by over 8,000 mourners. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Photo by Horace Cort/AP Images. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Original caption: Bystanders react to the destruction in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963. In 1992, nearly 30 years after the bombing, the Collins family decided to move Addie Mae's remains to Elmwood Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6433252/addie-mae-collins. and affiliate links. Birmingham, Alabama: Graveside services at Woodlawn cemetery as body of Cynthia Dianne Wesley was buried . There had been many bombings in Birmingham designed to stop the black struggle for equality. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. By read more, On September 15, 1978, boxer Muhammad Ali defeats Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to win the world heavyweight boxing title for the third time in his career, the first fighter ever to do so. Search above to list available cemeteries. On Sept. 15, 1963, four Black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair, were killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, after a . There is a problem with your email/password. It was thirty years before her sisters could bear to visit her grave, and when they saw its neglected state, they immediately arranged to have Addie Mae moved to another, better-maintained cemetery. Flying debris nearly demolishes vehicles and leaves cars dotted with large holes. Addie Mae Collins was one of the four little girls murdered in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing back in 1963. Now, as our nation confronts multiple assaults on democratic values, we hold firm in the fight to protectand to expanddemocracy through social justice education. Rudolph, who spoke to the press following a service at the church marking the anniversary of the bombing on Monday, said the family tried to exhume Addie Mae Collins around the year 2000, in order . At 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded under the steps of the church. I had no idea how leafcutter ants did their job, but this "Ant Lab" clip (below) explains it well in just 41 seconds, and the close-up photography is outstanding. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? With its large African American congregation, the 16th Street Baptist Church served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., who once called Birmingham a symbol of hardcore resistance to integration. Alabamas governor, George Wallace, made preserving racial segregation one of the central goals of his administration, and Birmingham had one of the most violent and lawless chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. In the rubble of the 16th Street Baptist Church were the bodies of Addie Mae Collins, 14, Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. When the debris was searched for survivors, the bodies of the four young girls were found: ; Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Carole Robertson. Prior to the bombing, how had the children in Birmingham made history? In October 1963, Chambliss was cleared of the murder charge and received a six-month jail sentence and a $100 fine for the dynamite. Learn more about merges. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The 17-year-old charged in the incident, which also left a person wounded by an AR-15 assault-style rifle, has claimed self-defense. And we must hold our leaders accountable for their words because those words inspire others to act, sometimes with deadly consequences. In 1998, the Collins family requested that Addie Mae's body be exhumed and moved to another cemetery. That same day, news reports described the federal hunt for the bombers as rivaling the search for John Dillinger. Alvin and Alpha Robertson, parents of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing victim Carole Robertson at the funeral for their daughter; Sept. 17, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr., eulogized her, and her tombstone bears the rousing inscription "She Died So Freedom Might Live.". She befriended Condoleezza Rice, a fellow elementary school student who later became U.S. secretary of state. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Seated left to right: Caroles sister, Dianne, and parents, Alvin Robertson Sr. and Alpha Robertson. An overflow crowd attends memorial services at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sept. 18, 1963, for three of the four Black girls killed in the bombing. "Violence is not in our plans," the Rev. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Her family says someone is responsible . Addie Mae Collins' younger sister, Sarah, had been with the four girls when the bomb exploded, but survived the attack as did the other 22 children in the basement. of "It was just a matter of time," said Pastor John H. Cross of the bombing. Try again later. Try again later. This year, relatives of Addie Mae Collins, one of the girls that was killed, wanted to move her body to another burial site and found that it wasn't there. Every last one of us is condemned for that crime and the bombing before it and a decade ago. Thirty-five years ago a bomb killed four little girls in a Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Verify and try again. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Addie Mae Collins, Birth Year: 1949, Birth date: April 18, 1949, Birth State: Alabama, Birth City: Birmingham, Birth Country: United States. Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms It wasn't until 1977 that anyone was charged, at which time a Klan leader was convicted for the murders. Addie Mae's body, like so many buried in black cemeteries throughout the South, is missing. Photo byThe Washington Post Photo/Hal Yeager/Getty Images. Addie Mae, 14, and Denise, 11, were preparing to sing in the church choir. When the debris was searched for survivors, the bodies of four young girls were found: Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Carole Robertson. The church bombing was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabamas school system. On Sept. 15, 1963, she and three other girls were killed by Ku Klux Klan members who planted. The five girls were gathered in a downstairs washroom at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church on the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, when a timed bomb planted by KKK members went off outside under . Please enter your email and password to sign in. Windows were blown out of nearby businesses as was a stained glass window at the church depicting Christ leading children. A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center1991-2023. Addie Mae Collins was born on 18 April 1949 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. On Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, several members of the KKK tunneled under the church and planted 122 sticks of dynamite near what was the girls' basement rest room. The Federal garrison inside Harpers Ferry was vulnerable to a Confederate attack read more, On September 15, 1935, German Jews are stripped of their citizenship, reducing them to mere subjects of the state. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley were then interred during joint funeral attended by over 8,000 mourners. This crime marked a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The North Vietnamese forces had launched a massive offensive, called the Nguyen Hue or Easter Offensive, on March 31, with three main read more, William Howard Taft is born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 15, 1857. The benefits of learning to play READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. In the wake of the Battle of the Marneduring which Allied troops halted the steady German push through Belgium and France that had proceeded over the first month of World War Ia conflict both sides had expected to be short and decisive turns longer and bloodier, as Allied and read more, ARVN forces recapture Quang Tri City after four days of heavy fighting, with the claim that over 8,135 NVA had been killed in the battle. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Her body was not in the spot where it was presumed to be. Gov. But the result is that minorities still end up representing a disproportionate percentage of bodies used in research and medicine, and those bodies are still often being used without consent. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley were then interred during joint funeral attended by over 8,000 mourners. Service, a Creative Commons The family of Carole Robertson attendfuneral services for her on Sept. 17, 1963, in Birmingham. Try again. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Cynthia Wesley (6433296)? An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Sorry! Denise McNair performed in plays, dance routines and poetry readings to raise money for muscular dystrophy research. Chambliss was sent to prison, where he died. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. When the crew dug up the grave there was nothing in it. A box of dynamite with a timer was placed under the front steps steps of the church, near the basement, and was set to go off during Sunday prayers. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. "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. She attended Ullman High School where she excelled in math, reading, and band. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Just as the deaths of the four girls in Birmingham led to public outrage and a renewed commitment to civil rights, the Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality this year have ushered in a renewed sense of hope that our nation may one day find a meaningful way to address systemic anti-Black racism not only in law enforcement, but also in all of our institutions and society at large. Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, a major event in the history of civil rights in the United States. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. At about 10:22 AM, as 26 children were entering the basement assembly room for closing prayers, the bomb exploded, blowing a hole in the east side of the church and injuring dozens. Wallace and his advisers have been sowing the seeds of this disaster," the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law stated. A system error has occurred. Raised and educated at Ashfield, her parents comfortable home, Christie began making up stories as a child. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. This photo shows President Kennedy's visit to Redstone Arsenal on Sept. 11, 1962. This decision was later reversed. 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.