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 * [[image:04298u_cropped.jpg]]Background**: Before the 1963 church bombing many events happened to actually cause the terrible event. The church was a very important part of Birmingham African-American community. Sixteen Street Baptist church was also used for many things such as; meeting places for the civil rights movement headquarters for several desegregation protests, and rallies for Martin Luther King Jr. King wasn’t the only famous African American to speak at the church. A few people who spoke there were W.E.B. Dubois, Mary McLeod Bethune, Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson and Ralph Bunche. A few days before the bombing lots of people were filled with anger because of the desegregation of the Birmingham schools, which caused a lot of tension in the city.


 * Important people**: In this terriable event many important people were involved. The four little girls that were killed: Denise, Cynthia, Carole, Addie. Denise McNair was the daughter of photo shop owner Chris and schoolteacher Maxine, she never understood why she couldn't get a sandwitch at the same place as white people. Carole Robertson was the daughter of a father who was a band master at an elementary school and a mother who was a librarian; she was a great reader, dancer and clarinet player. Cynthia Wesley was the daughter of parents were also teachers; during the day of the bomb she left home to adjust her slip so it could be presentable to wear to church. Addie's (Junie and Sarah were her sis) was the poorest of the four. She was one of seven children born to Oscar Collins, a janitor, and Alice, a homemaker; she was a quiet, but sweet girl. Addie also could draw people real good. Four memebers of the kkk were very important to the incident because of the horror they caused; Cherry, Blanton Jr., Chambliss, and a man named Cash. J. Edgar Hoover was another important person in the event. was the government offical of the FBI, who was against civil rights, and stopped the prosecution of the 4 men who bombed the church. This was very bad because the men where free for like 39 years, causing many people to be filled with anger. He also believed student actibvism and the civil rights movement affected the untied states and militarily.

Sept. 15, 1963: Dynamite bomb explodes outside Sunday services at 16th Street Baptist Church, killing 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins, and injuring 20 others. May 13, 1965: FBI memo to director J. Edgar Hoover concludes the bombing was the work of former Ku Klux Klansmen Robert E. Chambliss, Bobby Frank Cherry, Herman Frank Cash and Thomas E. Blanton Jr. 1968: FBI closes its investigation without filing charges. 1971: Alabama Atty. Gen. Bill Baxley reopens investigation. Nov. 18, 1977: Chambliss convicted on a state murder charge and sentenced to life in prison. Feb. 7, 1984: Cash dies. Oct. 29, 1985: Chambliss dies in prison, still professing his innocence. 1988: Alabama Atty. Gen. Don Siegelman reopens the case, which is closed without action. 1993: Birmingham-area black leaders meet with FBI, agents secretly begin new review of case. July 1997: Cherry interrogated in Texas; FBI investigation becomes public knowledge. Oct. 27, 1998: Federal grand jury in Alabama begins hearing evidence. May 17, 2000: Blanton and Cherry surrender on murder indictments returned by grand jury in Birmingham. April 10, 2001: Judge delays Cherry trial, citing defendant’s medical problems amid questions over his mental competence. May 1, 2001: Blanton convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. May 22, 2002: Cherry convicted of murder, bringing automatic sentence of life in prison.
 * The story of the event**: On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963 at about 10am the 16th street Baptist church was bombed by four members of the kkk with about 122 sticks of dynamite. During this time Sunday school was in session. The bomb blew a hole in the east side of the church, which it shattered windows, walls, doors, and the air was filled with a thick cloud of dust. The bomb also ended up killing 4 young girls, and injured 22 people. The four young girls that were killed, names were Addie Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair.

A former archivist of the Birmingham Public Library named Marvin Whiting was one of the poeple that said, "if we deal with our wounds, I don’t know what we will do. Maybe this trial will help the healing process. I’ve never lost hope that we can latch onto the lessons of history and go beyond our past, but sometimes hope unfulfilled leaves a bad taste in your mouth, yet you’re afraid to let go of it." Cherry one of the four kkk memeber who bombed the church was porud of what he did. He would always "boasting about blowing up a bunch of niggers back in Birmingham," said his granddaughter.
 * how people felt about this incident/ why did it happen:** The bombing was supposed to scare Americans who had been demonstrating for an end to segregation and to disrupt court-ordered integration of public schools, but instead of the people being scared it helped build their support on the civil rights movement.


 * the affects of this event**: This event affected other events in the long run people many people were filled with hatered, and was fed up. For an example Bloody Sunday was one affect from this event that happened two years later. During the day of bloody sunday many (black) people marched down the streets of Alabama fighting for their rights.