What Was The Significance Of The Birmingham Church Bombing Of 1960

The 16th Street Baptist Church was organized as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham in 1873. It became the first African-American church to be organized in Birmingham. A site was soon acquired on 3rd Avenue North between 19th and 20th Street for a dedicated building. In 1880, the church sold that property and built a new church on the present site on 16th Street and 6th Avenue North. The new brick building was completed in 1884, but in 1908 the city condemned the structure and ordered it to be demolished.

When someone thinks of the civil rights movement the first subject to come to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King jr. Dr. King was a baptist minister and social activist who was as well of utmost importance in the civil rights movement in the period from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Dr. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia in January of the year 1929. He grew up being fathered by Martin Luther King sr. a former schoolteacher.

Luke 23: 24 ,”Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” That was the verse that 16th Street Baptist Church Sunday school lesson for September 15, 1963 was going to be based on (Howard, Betsy Child). Sadly, four very special little girls never got to hear it. The assassination of the four innocent little girls, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair during the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was unjust because they were innocent, the main causes for the assassination were racial and political; however, in those days some people thought certain murder was acceptable, therefore making it just. The assassination of Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise Carol McNair was very unjust, because they were innocent, unoffending, and did not deserve to die that way. Addie, Cynthia, Carole, were only fourteen years old, and Denise was only eleven.

September 15, 1963 - A bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four African-American girls during church services. At least 14 others are injured in the explosion, including Sarah Collins, the 12-year-old sister of Addie Mae Collins, who loses an eye. Three former Ku Klux Klan members are eventually convicted of murder for the bombing. Victims: Addie Mae Collins, 14 Denise McNair, 11 Carole Robertson, 14 Cynthia Wesley, 14 Timeline: September 15, 1963 - Four girls are killed and 14 injured in a bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Four innocent lives taken, twenty-two people injured, causing affliction in the families lives. Because of Birmingham having a big impact United States and the Civil Rights Movement, it changed racial history. The KKK had a momentous role in the Racial equality fight, The Civil Rights Movement. Birmingham 16th Street Church Bombing had a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

In the aftermath, thousands of black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing. When the police went to break up the protests, violence broke out across the city. Many people were arrested and two young African American men died before the National Guard was called in and restored order. Also, the bombing impacted the support to end segregation greatly and adding more support from many angry people because of the four innocent little girl’s

The Bombing 16th Street, Baptist Church The tragic event occurred on September 15, 1963. The act was carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, people who disliked blacks and did horrible things because of this, in Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama was a Southern state and allowed segregation. The explosion went off at approximately 10:20 A.M., when Sunday school was ending and the service was beginning.

Resulting in deaths of black people of all ages. The stereotypes that portray black people as dangerous and savage has persisted decades after its creation and now more than ever even though its results aren’t the same and slavery has been abolished black people continue to suffer the consequences in various forms. From being afraid of black people because they seem suspicious, to believing that the victim of this whole situation are the dangerous ones when in reality they were part of such vile and very well planned atrocity to cover the real criminals of taking over the world. I am of course not saying that white people are all criminals and do not intend to say that whites are the ones that should be suffering all the misfortunes that black

“I am in Birmingham because unjustice is here...calling for aid” (Springboard book, 207). The cruel reality was that in Birmingham they were unjustice and they descriminated the blacks. Marthin Luther King Jr. was against the laws and customs, for this reason, he came to Birmingham because he felt like the blacks

In this case Martin Luther KIng Jr. fighting against the law about injustice and was able to change John F. Kennedy’s mind.

Martin Luther King Jr is the most iconic civil rights leader in history. If anyone is unsure of his significance, they could simply take a trip to Washington, D.C to view his magnificent monument. Dr. King in the 1950s and 1960s, led protests and spoke on numerous occasions about injustice and segregation within the African American community. Although he had many Anti- Racism protest, his most legendary took place in Birmingham, Alabama. While in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested which led to him writing a detailed letter to the city clerk.

According to “The role of the Black church in the Civil Rights Movement” by Vicki Phipps, the church was important because after slavery, black people could go there and feel safe. “People can only be enslaved for just so long before they find the hope inside to rise up for justice” (Phipps n.pag.). For a while the Civil Rights leaders did not have a place to meet and discuss things. The black community eventually migrated towards the Churches to plan their next move. “...the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, served as an organizing center for rallies and marches for racial desegregation…” (“Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing").

Martin Luther King Jr. How can one person change the world? Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist and leader . He completely changed the way people look at and treat others. Because of King civil right have changed forever and African Americans are now treated the same as anybody else.

Martin Luther King Jr. helped us realize that segregation and poverty are wrong. He also helped us realize that we should treat people the same. No matter race, color, or gender. He has impacted our everyday lives with the Civil Rights Act and his “I Have a Dream…” speech. He is an important man with an important history.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King is the G.O.A.T. He is the Greatest Of All Time when it comes to writing and delivering speeches. King has earned this title of G.O.A.T. because of how he can take a social group and mold them into a certain image to maximize the reaction of his words. In his speeches, King is very wise because he knew the best way to have his message remembered and push forward the civil rights movement was to get an emotional response. An emotional connection to a movement would result in more support and effort for the movement.