After worshiping a gentlemen gave us a tour of the church. The picture in the hallway under the restroom sign is exactly where the young ladies were when the church was bombed. You will see three of our female members there. You know... here you have young students about the same age learning in an area hate tried to prevent.
In the early morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of United a Ku Klux Klan group, planted 22 sticks of dynamite with a delayed-time release outside the basement of this church. At about 11:22 a.m., when twenty-six children were walking into the basement assembly room for closing prayers of a sermon entitled “The Love That Forgives,” the bomb exploded. Four girls, Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Denise McNair (aged 11), Carole Robertson (aged 14), and Cynthia Wesley (aged 14), were killed in the blast. The explosion blew a hole in the church's rear wall, destroyed the back steps, and left intact only the frames of all but one stained-glass window. The lone window that survived the concussion was one in which Jesus Christ was depicted knocking on a door, although Christ's face was destroyed.
ReplyDeleteI was only a baby when this happened, but my mother remembers it well as she was friends with Addie Mae Collins mother. This was a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE evil act of racism! Children are very fortunate today not to have to risk their lives just to learn. Thank you Keystone for this experience!
After my Daughter Breyanni returned from the college tour, she had a lot to say about visiting the church. Although I have read many articles on this church bombing, it felt so real to have my daughter explain the realness of the hateful act that took place. What was so ironic to her was the clock which had stopped ticking at the time the bombing took place. 10:22am-What a time to remember.
ReplyDeleteTynahmarie,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Breyani shared this with you but one of the young girls killed in the blast looked like Breyani. We were in the Civil Rights Museum and we had her stand next to the photo and everyone said she had a striking resemblence. We were not allowed to take pictures but if you ever get a chance to look at any website photos, you will see the familiarity.
The child:
Carol Denise McNair was born November 17, 1951. At the time of her death, she was eleven years old, the youngest victim killed in the attack. She was the eldest child of photo shop owner Chris and school teacher Maxine McNair, who had two younger daughters. A pupil at Center Street Elementary School, she was a popular student who was nicknamed 'Niecie' by her friends. She was a member of the Brownies guide organization, and enjoyed holding tea parties and playing baseball. She helped raise money to support muscular dystrophy by creating plays, dance routines, and poetry readings. These events became an annual event. People gathered in the yard to watch the show in Denise's carport, the main stage. Children donated their pennies, dimes, and nickels. Denise was a schoolmate and friend of Condoleezza Rice. She is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
She even sounds like Breyani. This too is awesome to me.