The Birmingham Church Bombing By Imani Introduction The Birmingham church bombing was in 1963. People assume that the Ku Klux Klan did it. Black people assumed it was the Ku Klux Klan because the church was a black church, and the members of the Ku Klux Klan were white. Four little girls died. The fifth one survived. This is important to the civil rights movement because it served as one of the most important events in the civil rights movement. And in the civil rights movement whites and blacks couldn't go to the same church. Introduction The Birmingham church bombing was in 1963. People assume that the Ku Klux Klan did it. Black people assumed it was the Ku Klux Klan because the church was a black church, and the members of the Ku Klux Klan were white. Four little girls died. The fifth one survived. This is important to the civil rights movement because it served as one of the most important events in the civil rights movement. And in the civil rights movement whites and blacks couldn't go to the same church. Why Did They Bomb The Church The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was originally called the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham It was founded in 1873. It was the largest and most elite black church in Birmingham. When the bomb exploded on the ground floor of the church, it collapsed. The four little girls, 11-year-old Denise McNair, 14 year Carol Roberson, 14 year old Cynthia Wesley, and 14 year old Addie Mae Collins. It wasn't only just the four little girls that died. Two boys, 14 year old Virgil Ware and 16 years old Johnny Roberson also were killed. 17 people were also injured. The girl that survived was Sarah Collins. Sarah was seriously injured and blinded. Why Did They Bomb The Church The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was originally called the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham It was founded in 1873. It was the largest and most elite black church in Birmingham. When the bomb exploded on the ground floor of the church, it collapsed. The four little girls, 11-year-old Denise McNair, 14 year Carol Roberson, 14 year old Cynthia Wesley, and 14 year old Addie Mae Collins. It wasn't only just the four little girls that died. Two boys, 14 year old Virgil Ware and 16 years old Johnny Roberson also were killed. 17 people were also injured. The girl that survived was Sarah Collins. Sarah was seriously injured and blinded. About The KKK When the Ku Klux Klan bombed the church nobody actually saw them do it. The blacks just assumed that the KKK did it. The KKK was really sneaky about the bombing because they didn't want to get caught by anybody. They would have been arrested if somebody saw them. The four members of the KKK were Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry. About The KKK When the Ku Klux Klan bombed the church nobody actually saw them do it. The blacks just assumed that the KKK did it. The KKK was really sneaky about the bombing because they didn't want to get caught by anybody. They would have been arrested if somebody saw them. The four members of the KKK were Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry. The From Denise McNair The reason why the KKK bombed the church was because it was a black church, I was one of them who was in the church. I was 11 years old when I died. This letter is from Heaven. I'm Denise McNair. I died when the civil rights movement was still going on. The bad people stole my life because I couldn't live a full life. And my mom was pregnant with my little baby brother and he couldn't see me and I couldn't see him. I couldn't live my dream of being who knows what. I didn't have much time trying to think about what I wanted to do. Because of whites didn't like blacks they bombed the church with 5 sweet little girls inside. The From Denise McNair The reason why the KKK bombed the church was because it was a black church, I was one of them who was in the church. I was 11 years old when I died. This letter is from Heaven. I'm Denise McNair. I died when the civil rights movement was still going on. The bad people stole my life because I couldn't live a full life. And my mom was pregnant with my little baby brother and he couldn't see me and I couldn't see him. I couldn't live my dream of being who knows what. I didn't have much time trying to think about what I wanted to do. Because of whites didn't like blacks they bombed the church with 5 sweet little girls inside. Why the Birmingham Church Bombing Was So Important The Birmingham church bombing was part of the civil rights movement. The Birmingham church bombing was the worst one. People were upset that they would kill four little girls. They asked why would you kill four little girls, why did you do that to those little girls? The people were mad, very mad. Especially their families. But the death of four innocent little girls helped build support to end segregation. This helped lead for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the end, the bombing was exactly the opposite of what the bombers had intended. When the whites and blacks heard about it on the news they felt bad, horrible, and angry. This changed for blacks and whites from being separated Why the Birmingham Church Bombing Was So Important The Birmingham church bombing was part of the civil rights movement. The Birmingham church bombing was the worst one. People were upset that they would kill four little girls. They asked why would you kill four little girls, why did you do that to those little girls? The people were mad, very mad. Especially their families. But the death of four innocent little girls helped build support to end segregation. This helped lead for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the end, the bombing was exactly the opposite of what the bombers had intended. When the whites and blacks heard about it on the news they felt bad, horrible, and angry. This changed for blacks and whites from being separated Bibliography http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963- birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/ http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963- Birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/10- key-facts -16th-street-baptist-church-bombings- article-1.2361565 http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/ 2015/06/historical-background-charleston- The End shooting/396242/ http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9- things -you-should-know-about-the-16th-street-baptist -church-bombing Bibliography http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963- birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/ http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963- Birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/10- key-facts -16th-street-baptist-church-bombings- article-1.2361565 http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/ 2015/06/historical-background-charleston- The End shooting/396242/ http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9- things -you-should-know-about-the-16th-street-baptist -church-bombing.