Back تفجير الكنيسة المعمدانية في شارع 16 Arabic Bombový útok na baptistický kostel v Birminghamu 1963 Czech 16th Street Baptist Churchin pommi-isku Finnish Attentat de l'église baptiste de la 16e rue French הפיגוע בכנסייה הבפטיסטית ברחוב 16 HE Strage di Birmingham Italian Zamach na kościół baptystów przy 16th Street w Birmingham w Alabamie Polish 16th Street Baptist Church bombing SIMPLE 第16街浸信會教堂爆炸案 Chinese
| 16th Street Baptist Church bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Civil Rights movement and the Birmingham campaign | |
 The four girls murdered in the bombing (clockwise from top left): Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11) | |
| Location | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Coordinates | 33°31′0″N 86°48′54″W / 33.51667°N 86.81500°W |
| Date | September 15, 1963; 61 years ago 10:22 a.m. (UTC-5) |
| Target | 16th Street Baptist Church |
Attack type | Bombing Domestic terrorism Right-wing terrorism Mass murder |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 14–22 |
| Victims | Addie Mae Collins Cynthia Wesley Carole Robertson Carol Denise McNair |
| Perpetrators | Thomas Blanton (convicted) Robert Chambliss (convicted) Bobby Cherry (convicted) Herman Cash (alleged) |
| Motive | Racism and support for racial segregation |
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. The bombing was committed by a white supremacist terrorist group.[1][2][3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.[4]
Described by Martin Luther King Jr. as "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity,"[5] the explosion at the church killed four girls and injured between 14 and 22 other people.
Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation had concluded in 1965 that the bombing had been committed by four known KKK members and segregationists: Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry,[6] no prosecutions were conducted until 1977, when Robert Chambliss was tried by Attorney General of Alabama Bill Baxley and convicted of the first-degree murder of one of the victims, 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair.
As part of an effort by state and federal prosecutors to reopen and try cold cases involving murder and domestic terrorism from the civil rights era, the State of Alabama placed both Blanton Jr. and Cherry on trial, who were each convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry.[7] Herman Cash died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing.
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point in the United States during the civil rights movement and also contributed to support for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Congress.[8]
- ^ Hewitt, Christopher (2005). Political violence and terrorism in modern America : a chronology. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 12. ISBN 9780313334184.
- ^ Parrott-Sheffer, Chelsea. "16th Street Baptist Church bombing". Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Graham, David (June 18, 2015). "How Much Has Changed Since the Birmingham Church Bombing?". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Today in 1963: The Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church". ajccenter.wfu.edu. September 15, 2013. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
- ^ Krajicek, David J. (September 1, 2013). "Justice Story: Birmingham church bombing kills 4 innocent girls in racially motivated attack". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ White, Jerry (May 20, 2000). "Former Klansmen indicted for murder in 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama church". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ Reeves, Jay (May 23, 2002). "Case closed; Cherry guilty". TimesDaily. Associated Press. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page).