16th Street Baptist Church bombing was an act of racially motivated terrorism that caused the deaths of four African American girls on Sept. 15, 1963, in Birmingham , Alabama . Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, all 14 years old, and Denise McNair, 11 years old, were killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church when the building was bombed. More than 20 other people were injured in the attack. Four members of the Ku Klux Klan became the primary suspects in the case. The Ku Klux Klan is a group of white secret societies whose members oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, and other minority groups. The bombing was a key event of the civil rights movement in the United States. It helped speed the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act .
The 16th Street Baptist Church was a prominent African American church in Birmingham, with a distinguished past and congregation. The church stands on the corner of 16th Street and Sixth Avenue North, across from Kelly Ingram Park (formerly West Park). Civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. , sometimes used the church as a meeting place. It served as a kickoff point for a number of civil rights marches and protests that took place in May 1963. That month, Birmingham police and firemen attacked civil rights demonstrators in the streets bordering the park. The church became a center of black protest and rebellion against violent white segregationists . All these factors contributed to making the church a target for the Ku Klux Klan.
On Sept. 30, 1963, the Alabama police arrested three men, including Robert Edward Chambliss. Chambliss was one of the prime suspects of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, the Alabama police charged Chambliss and the other men only with the illegal possession of dynamite. They were fined and given a six-month jail sentence, which was later suspended. In 1965, agents of the FBI working in Alabama identified their four main suspects. However, the FBI made no arrests and closed the case in 1968. The U.S. Department of Justice later reported that the FBI had collected a great deal of evidence that the head of the FBI had blocked from being used. In the early 1970’s, Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley reopened the case. In 1977, with the help of some new evidence, Chambliss was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 1985.
In 1994, Herman Frank Cash, another suspect, died without being charged. In 2001, an Alabama jury convicted Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., for his part in the bombing. Blanton was sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 2020. In 2002, an Alabama jury convicted Bobby Frank Cherry of first-degree murder for his role in the bombing. Cherry was sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 2004.
The 16th Street Baptist Church is still an active church. It was designated a national historic landmark in 2006. In 2013, President Barack Obama signed legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the four girls who were killed in the church bombing. The medal is the highest civilian award given by Congress.
