George Wallace, however, repeated his call that the feds buried evidence in bombings because it pointed to "the wrong people" -- meaning civil rights groups. [88] He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. Baxley had been a student at the University of Alabama when he heard about the bombing in 1963, and later recollected: "I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what."[72]. Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry. [32] All four girls were pronounced dead on arrival at the Hillman Emergency Clinic. He said that Cherry had signed an affidavit in the presence of the FBI on October 9, 1963, confirming that he, Chambliss, and Blanton were at these premises on this date.[125]. Although sections of the recordingpresented in evidence on April 27are unintelligible, Blanton can twice be heard mentioning the phrase "plan a bomb" or "plan the bomb". I didn't bomb that church. These demonstrations led to an agreement, on May 8, between the city's business leaders and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to integrate public facilities, including schools, in the city within 90 days. Cobbs also testified that approximately one week after the bombing, she had observed Chambliss watching a news report relating to the four girls killed in the bombing. (The physical description by witnesses of this person varied, and could have matched either Bobby Cherry or Robert Chambliss. For more on the ceremony, please visit this story. The last convicted Birmingham church bomber has died in prison [117][118], Blanton died in prison from unspecified causes on June 26, 2020.[119]. Brogdon testified on May 16 that Cherry had boasted to her that he had been the individual who planted the bomb beneath the steps to the church, then returned hours later to light the fuse to the dynamite. "[109], Defense attorney John Robbins reminded the jury in his closing argument that his client was an admitted segregationist and a "loudmouth", but that was all that could be proven. I'm shot," he told his brother James with his dying breath. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [97], On May 16, 2000, a grand jury in Alabama indicted Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry on eight counts each in relation to the 16th Street Baptist Church Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at the funeral of three of the girls. Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. Other witnesses obtained identified Chambliss as the individual who had placed the bomb beneath the church. Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement, https://www.britannica.com/event/16th-Street-Baptist-Church-bombing, History Learning Site - 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing, Spartacus Educational - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, BlackPast.org - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, National Park Service - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963), 16th Street Baptist Church bombing - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). "The answer should be, "We all did it." [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. One week before the bombing, Wallace granted an interview with The New York Times, in which he said he believed Alabama needed a "few first-class funerals" to stop racial integration. Fred Shuttlesworth officiated instead. [62][63] At the time, no federal charges were filed against Chambliss or any of his fellow conspirators in relation to the bombing. Alvin and Alpha Robertson, parents of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing victim Carole Robertson at the funeral for their daughter; Sept. 17, 1963. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be tried. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [126], Following the convictions of Blanton and Cherry, Alabama's former Attorney General, William Baxley, expressed his frustration that he had never been informed of the existence of the FBI audio recordings before they were introduced in the 2001 and 2002 trials. He referred to testimony given by her father, Chris McNair, about the family's loss, and requested that the jury return a verdict of guilty.[86]. [49], The city of Birmingham initially offered a $52,000 reward for the arrest of the bombers. Many of the civil rights protest marches that took place in Birmingham during the 1960s began at the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had long been a significant religious center for the citys Black population and a routine meeting place for civil rights organizers like King. All but one of the church's stained-glass windows were destroyed in the explosion. Baxley acknowledged that typical juries in 1960s Alabama would have likely leaned in favor of both defendants, even if these recordings had been presented as evidence,[128] but said that he could have prosecuted Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry in 1977 if he had been granted access to these tapes. The deaths in a sense, are on the hands of each of us. Maxine McNair, last living parent of a child killed in Birmingham - al In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. 203 Birmingham Church Bombing Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 203 Birmingham Church Bombing Premium High Res Photos Browse 203 birmingham church bombing photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. Cherry, who now lives in Mabank, Texas, and another ex-Klansman, Thomas Blanton Jr., were indicted on murder charges two years ago. She died Sunday at 93. The call was answered by the acting Sunday School secretary, a 14-year-old girl named Carolyn Maull. ", "Beauty from the Ashes of 16th Street Baptist Church", "Church Bomb Kills 4 Girls in Ala.; 2 Die in Fighting", "The Speech That Shocked Birmingham the Day After the Church Bombing", "Ceremony recalls victim of civil rights violence", "First of 4 Birmingham Bomb Victims is Buried", "We Shall Overcome Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement", "Funeral Speakers Say Deaths Of Three Children Not In Vain", "Martin Luther King's 'Eulogy for the Martyred Children', "The ghosts of Alabama: After 37 years, two men are indicted for a bombing that transfigured the civil rights movement", "Birmingham Klansman Guilty in Dynamite Case; Two Other Defendants Face Trial Today--Dr. King Gives City an Ultimatum on Jobs", "FBI: A Byte Out of History: The '63 Baptist Church Bombing", "Murderer Of 4 Birmingham Girls Found Guilty (38 yrs later)", "Former Klansman convicted in deadly 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama church", "Cherry convicted: Jury verdict in bombing hailed as 'justice finally', "Birmingham Church Bombing Conviction Ended an Obsession of the Prosecutor", "Bill Baxley Reflects on 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing", "Former Prosecutor Says FBI Delayed Alabama Conviction", "Former Klansman Convicted In Bombing Death", "Another Redemption: Baxley in Birmingham", "Puzzle Pieces Put Together in Bombing Case", "Alabamian Guilty in '63 Blast that Killed Four Girls", "Robert E. Chambliss, Figure in '63 Bombing", "Former Klansman convicted of deadly Alabama church bombing 40 years on", "Klansman convicted of killing black girls", "As Church Bombing Trial Begins in Birmingham, the City's Past Is Very Much Present", "Former Klansman who was Key Witness at Bombing Trial Dies", "Church Bombing Verdict Hinges on how Jurors Understand Tapes", "Jury Hears More Old Tapes in Church Bombing Trial", "Birmingham church bomber guilty, gets four life terms", "Testimony Concludes in Trial On Birmingham Church Blast", "Former Klansman Convicted in 1963 Church Bombing", "Former Klansman faces prison in 1963 Killings", "1 Klansman survives Ala church bombing cases", "Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bomber up for parole next month", "16th Street Baptist Church bomber Thomas Blanton denied parole", "Thomas Blanton, Who Bombed a Birmingham Church, Dies at 82", "Witnesses Say Ex-Klansman Boasted of Church Bombing", "Design of Bomb Still Uncertain 38 Years Later", "Explosives Expert Testifies In Church Bombing Trial", "Prosecutor Says Justice 'Overdue' in '63 Bombing", "More Than Just a Racist? More than 1,000 people were present at the unveiling of the memorial, including survivors of the bombing, friends of the victims and the parents of Denise McNair, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware. ), Both counsels delivered their closing arguments before the jury on May 1. [100] It concluded that vascular dementia had impaired his mind, therefore making Cherry mentally incompetent to stand trial or assist in his own defense.[101]. After lawyers requested an apology and financial reparations for a survivor of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, Alabama's governor has somewhat obliged: offering a formal apology, while . Immediately after the blast, church members wandered dazed and bloodied, covered with white powder and broken stained glass, before starting to dig in the rubble to search for survivors. Missing remains of 1963 church bombing victim believed to be found Sarah Collins Rudolph was the fifth girl and survived. Vigilance And Victory: How The Birmingham Church Bombing - HuffPost Jackson testified that Chambliss had expressed frustration that the Klan was "dragging its feet" on the issue of racial integration,[18] and said he was eager to form a splinter group more dedicated to resistance. (J. Edgar Hoover, then-head of the FBI, disapproved of the civil rights movement; he died in 1972.). Birmingham Public Library. [31] The pastor of the church, the Reverend John Cross, recollected in 2001 that the girls' bodies were found "stacked on top of each other, clung together". The NAACP questioned the speed of the investigation and whether all resources available were being utilized. The 'who' is every little individual who talks about the 'niggers' and spreads the seeds of his hate to his neighbor and his son What's it like living in Birmingham? Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The files were sealed by order of J. Edgar Hoover. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Farrell Griswold, pastor of Minor Heights Baptist, told the crowd. 1963 Birmingham church bombing A grieving relative is led away from the site of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Also, at that time, information from our surveillance was not admissible in court. Published: Sep. 15, 2022, 1:26 p.m. Pallbearers load a coffin into a hearse at a funeral for victims of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September, 1963. He said the blast shredded the girls bodies.Some members of the jury looked down and grimaced as Mr. Brissie used a large screen to display black-and-white photographs of the bodies.Defendant Bobby Frank Cherry also turned his head away from the photos, which werent visible to a gallery that included several of the victims relatives sitting in the front row.Mr. Cochran also added that although the evidence to be presented would not conclusively show that Cherry had personally planted or ignited the bomb, the combined evidence would illustrate that he had aided and abetted in the commission of the act. An unidentified man digs grave for one of the four victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September 1963. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be brought to trial. Mauldin testified on April 30 that he had observed two men in a Rambler station wagon adorned with a Confederate flag repeatedly drive past the church immediately before the blast, and that, seconds after the bomb had exploded, the car had "burned rubber" as it drove away. [67] Blanton pleaded not guilty to the charges and chose not to testify on his behalf throughout the trial. About the recordings made as Blanton conversed with Burns, Robbins emphasized that Burns had earlier testified that Blanton had never expressly said that he had made or planted the bomb. At approximately 10:22a.m., an anonymous man phoned the 16th Street Baptist Church. [116], His first parole hearing was held on August 3, 2016. The act of terror by four members of the KKK at the. The first of these witnesses was Tom Cook, a retired Birmingham police officer, who testified on November 15 as to a conversation he had had with Chambliss in 1975. The Rev. Saturday was the 55th anniversary of the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. At least 14 others are injured in. [107], The trial lasted for one week. KKK members had routinely called in bomb threats intended to disrupt civil rights meetings as well as services at the church. 35. The community, the state and the nation were stunned and shocked by this dastardly act. When a bomb made of dynamite detonated at 10:22 am on September 15, 1963, church members were attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11:00 am church service. Given the state's disenfranchisement of most Black people since the turn of the century, by making voter registration essentially impossible, few of the city's Black residents were registered to vote. The tragic 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, helped set America on a course toward passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.. And despite the personal tragedy the bombing caused the McNair family, it set them on a path of spreading love, understanding and racial unity to people across the country. On May 22, 2002, Cherry was convicted and sentenced to life, bringing a long-awaited victory to the friends and families of the four young victims. "Wow. Birmingham church bombing case was FBI triumph In his rebuttal closing argument, defense attorney Art Hanes Jr. attacked the evidence presented by the prosecution as being purely circumstantial,[87] adding that, despite the existence of similar circumstantial evidence, Chambliss had not been prosecuted in 1963 of the church bombing. C.E. Robinson died before reaching the hospital. On September 18, the funeral of the three other girls killed in the bombing was held at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. Several dozen people were present at the unveiling, presided over by state Senator. Johnny's Death: The Untold Tragedy In Birmingham : NPR Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage.