Aaron Hile Civics Pd.2
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy and Fred Shutterworth SCLC and CORE involved to let African Americans vote
Sept. 15, 1963 A man gets out of his Chevrolet Places a box under the steps Explodes at 10:22 AM
122 Sticks of Dynamite went off 4 young girls were killed Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14) Carole Robertson (14), Cynthia Wesley (14) They were attending Sunday school 23 others also hurt in the blast 2 others were killed in streets from riot
The girls who were killed in the blast were charitable and smart They worked fundraisers for muscular dystrophy Went door to door after school Were good students At School “Nobody wanted to miss them when they came around” –A classmate
The Church after the bombing The destruction of cars parked near the church
The Governor of Alabama, George Wallace blamed first Witnesses identified the man as Robert Chambliss, KKK Arrested and Charged with murder and possession of dynamite $100 fine, 6 month Jail sentence
Chambliss – Not Guilty of Murder Guilty of Possession of dynamite Bill Baxley, Atty. Gen Finds more evidence not used in Trial Chambliss Tried again in November 1977 Guilty – Life Died in 1985
In May of 2000 Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had blocked evidence Ku Klux Klan behind act Four men, Robert Chambliss, Herman Cash, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry responsible Cash deceased, Blanton and Cherry tried and convicted as Chambliss was. Thomas Blanton Jr.
This atrocity really showed how savage the KKK is It was one of the most violent acts in the movement Seen as one of Birmingham’s darkest days. There were dozens of unsolved bombings These perpetrators were brought to justice