The City of Sorrow and Shame

THE CITY OF SORROW AND SHAME

September 15, 2020 marks the 57th anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes committed against the African American community in an attempt to slow the pace of desegregation in Birmingham, Alabama.  

Birmingham, Alabama 1963. Racial tensions are at an all-time high. A federal court orders schools to integrate. The local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) fights every attempt by the African American community to bring integration to Birmingham. The KKK bombs African American homes, businesses, and churches in retaliation for their attempts to break through the white supremacy barrier. The perpetrators are rarely identified; when identified, they are rarely convicted. During a visit to Birmingham in the spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes, "Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality; there have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any other city in this nation."

The African American community, in response, escalates their struggle to conquer racism and attain the rights intended by the Constitution for all U.S. citizens. The African American community rallies with civil rights leaders at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, earmarking it as a prime target for the KKK.

September 15, 1963. It is a typical Sunday morning at the 16^th Street Baptist Church. Four excited African American children, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14-year-olds, gather with 11-year-old Denise McNair in the basement ladies’ lounge to prepare for the 10:30 a.m. Youth Day Church Service. As the girls stand by the window and chat, witnesses see a White man get out of a turquoise and white Chevrolet and plant a box under the steps of the church adjacent to the ladies’ lounge.

The four young girls have dreams and aspirations similar to all girls their age. The future holds promise for Denise, Addie, Carole, and Cynthia.

Denise McNair, the youngest, plans to be a pediatrician. Her mother teaches school and her father owns a photo shop. Denise is a Girl Scout. She likes softball. One fall day, she organizes the neighborhood kids and puts on a show to raise money for muscular dystrophy.

Addie Mae Collins is an artist whose forte is portraits. Her father, a janitor, struggles to keep his family financially solvent. To help out, Addie and her sisters sell their mother’s handmade aprons and potholders door-to-door after school. She is the peacekeeper among her seven siblings and a powerful pitcher on the softball field.

Carole Robertson, a straight-A student and a bookworm, hopes to teach history. Her mother is a librarian, her father, an elementary school band master. It is no surprise Carole plays clarinet in the school band. Carole belongs to Jack and Jill of America, the Girl Scouts, and the Science Club. She takes ballet and tap lessons. She and friends practice popular dances like the cha-cha on her porch and experiment with the latest hairstyles.

Cynthia Wesley spends much of her time on church activities. She is the first adopted daughter of two teachers and excels in math, reading and band. She also organizes lawn parties where she plays music and amuses her friends with witty stories.

The girls look forward to positive, productive futures, but they also experience the ugliness of bigotry.  

At the age of six, while Denise and her father shop at Kress Department Store, he leads her downstairs where there are separate bathrooms for “White” and “Colored” girls. “Colored” is a term used by White people to describe African Americans. Denise sees a lunch counter -- smells burgers and onions on the grill and begs her father to buy her a sandwich. She is irate when her father explains they can’t buy a sandwich at the counter because of the color of their skin.

Like other African Americans in Birmingham in 1963, when Addie is thirsty, she must bear the indignity of finding a “Colored” water fountain. She cannot drink from a water fountain that is designated “White.”

Carole looks forward to Saturday matinees with her sister. The African American kids cannot sit with the White kids and are restricted to the balcony seats. Carole and her sister lob kernels of popcorn over the balcony at the White kids below.

Cynthia’s neighborhood was once a garbage dump. African American families clean it up, build nice homes and move in. The KKK prefers the garbage dump and begins terrorizing the neighborhood to frighten the African American residents into abandoning their homes. The neighborhood is dubbed “Dynamite Hill” because of the many unsolved bombings attributed to the KKK. To protect his family, Cynthia’s father patrols the area each night with a group of neighbors.

September 15, 1963, 10:22 a.m. As Addie, Carole, Cynthia and Denise ready themselves for the church service, the box placed under the steps explodes. It rips through the church basement, propelling glass and mortar through the air like a cyclone. A short time later, the lifeless bodies of the four young girls are pulled from the rubble.

September 17, 1963. Carole Robertson is buried.

September 18, 1963. The funeral for Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair takes place at the 16^th Street Baptist Church. In the Eulogy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “Indeed this tragic event may cause the White South to come to terms with its conscience.” Dr. King’s prophecy holds true. The nation dubs Birmingham the “City of Sorrow and Shame.” The bomb, planted by the KKK to slow the pace of desegregation in Birmingham, has the opposite effect, becoming a pivotal point in the struggle. The moderate White community can no longer remain silent. Birmingham’s ineptitude for protecting its children outrages the nation and helps ensure the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

But the road to justice is slow, even though the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) initial investigation produces evidence against KKK members and witnesses report having seen Robert Chambliss (Dynamite Bob), an active KKK member, near the church that morning.

September 30, 1963, 15 days after the bombing. Chambliss is arrested for possession of dynamite, fined $1,000 and given a six-month jail sentence, which is suspended.

1977, 14 years after the bombing. At long last, Chambliss is charged and convicted of first-degree murder and is sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison 8 years later.

1994, 31 years after the bombing. Suspect Herman Cast dies before being charged.

2001, 38 years after the bombing. Thomas Blanton, Jr. is charged and convicted of the murders. He is sentenced to life in prison.

2002, 39 years after the bombing. Bobby Frank Cherry is charged and convicted of the murders. He is sentenced to life in prison.

Had the girls survived the bombing, they would be in their late 70’s today. Denise McNair may have become a pediatrician or found a cure for muscular dystrophy. Addie Mae Collins may have become a diplomat and negotiated peace within the Middle East. Carole Robertson may have become a history teacher and influenced the lives of children. Cynthia Wesley may have become a minister and followed in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

We will never know what the world lost that day, when it lost these four young girls. But what we do know is this: When bigotry rears its ugly head, all of us lose.