 |
|||
| 1963
BOMB PROBE REOPENED Birmingham Post-Herald by Carol Robinson The FBI reopened its investigation of the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church after conducting a secret year-long review of the case and receiving new and credible information. On Wednesday, FBI agents and Birmingham police began to interview witnesses to the 34-year-old bombing that killed four young girls. "It's a crime that has gone unsolved except one local conviction and it remains a sore part of American history that we would like to heal," said Joseph Lewis, FBI special agent in charge of the Birmingham office. "We feel we have an opportunity to do so this time and we want to take one last shot at it. This is the last grand hurrah we'll have." For tactical reasons, Lewis said he would not identify witnesses or suspects. But he said, authorities have no new players in the case, only new information. Lewis said agents have spent the past year pouring over dozens of volumes of information and evidence. On Wednesday they notified the family members of the four dead girls that they were moving forward with the investigation. The investigation's success will largely depend on the mental, well-being of the witnesses, most of whom are now elderly, Lewis said........ BAXLEY SAYS HE'S GLAD FBI REOPENED 63 BOMB
CASE Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley says he is glad the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing case has been reopened, and had always believed that the bombing had been the work of several members of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1977 he obtained a conviction against Robert Chambliss in the murder of one of the girls. "I'm not sure what the FBI has now, but I think a key to it will be for them to make everything available," he said Wednesday. Baxley made the 1963 bombing case one of his top priorities when he was elected attorney general in 1970 at age 28. For five years he fought a battle to obtain the FBI files on the bombing case as well as other bombings. Those files were turned over to him in 1975; in 1977 a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Chambliss, who was then 73. In November 1977, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Chambliss and he was sentenced to life in prison. The verdict came on the birthdate of Denise McNair, one of the four girls killed. Chambliss died in 1985, professing his innocence. REOPENING BOMBING INVESTIGATION
OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW DAY DAWNING The announced reopening of the investigation into the 1963 bombing of the historic Sixteenth Baptist Church challenged me to open my eyes and see the victims of this terrorist act. The decision of the Ku Klux Klan to bomb Sixteenth Street, taking the lives of four young ladies, was senseless. Twenty-two people were injured. More than $300,000 in damages were inflicted upon a house of worship, a place of prayer. A major architectural achievement by black people at the turn of the century was in ruins. This event continues to be a painful episode for current members. As pastor of that congregation, I affirm that Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963 forever changed the ministry of our church. Much attention - and rightfully so - has been devoted to the loss of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. Sarah Collins Cox, the sister of Addie Mae, who was in the ladies' lounge with the four, was severely injured and is often forgotten. Most of us do not know of Virgin Ware and James Robinson. These young men were murdered that same day 34 years ago in our city. So many people were affected by the violence that was commonplace in Birmingham. Some would like to forget this event or merely not discuss it. But the wounds have not healed. Traumatic and painful wounds that express the rages of a senseless society never completely heal overnight or in a few years. The scars are present, some visible, while others remain camouflaged behind the notion that silence is golden. Others are more determined in their hopes that our nation will finally discover how to live in harmony with each other. As Dr. King emphasized, we have not learned the art of living together. Reminders such as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, or the many churches burned down in recent months, and other hate crimes point to the fact that the journey is not over. Birmingham has made great progress in 34 years. Although problems of race continue to reveal themselves in various pockets of our metropolitan community, no one should believe that the civil rights movement was not successful in bridging the wide gap that exists between blacks and whites and other ethnic groups. Racism is real and decisions are made every day to keep people separated. At Sixteenth Street Church, we have intentionally focused on ways to help close the gap. It would have been easy for members of our congregation to allow the building to become a museum, a relic of a horrible event. However, through difficult times, our membership has remained committed to making the ministry of Sixteenth Street viable. We have established partnerships with various groups and organizations who are seeking ways to eradicate social ills that are devastating to people. Our historic facility is used by many of these groups and organizations for various programs. Because our facility was a victim in the 1963 bombing, it tells a fascinating story of survival, hope and rebirth. With more than 80,000 pilgrims visiting our church each year, our congregation consciously embraces an additional role of service that the original founders could not have realized in 1873 when they banded together and organized the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham. Clearly they did not see that one day a new building in a different location of the city of Birmingham would be bombed by Klansmen. Their dreams focused on making a difference in segregated Birmingham. They launched a ministry that would meet the emerging needs of people coming out of slavery. They were preparing for the industrial age of the nation, especially here in the South. The ministry of our church for them was being identified with a social gospel of liberation - economically, socially, educationally and spiritually. For almost 125 years, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church has attempted to meet the needs of people. After the 1963 bombing, people came to our facility trying to understand what happened and why. They wanted information that was not readily available in other places. Publishers were not widely accepting materials on issues of civil rights. In Birmingham, Sixteenth Street was that one place where they could touch someone, hear a voice, see a marker of a significant historical event, and be challenged to go home and make a difference. Our facility stands as a symbolic reminder that Birmingham has improved, but there is much work to be done. In subtle and deliberate ways, the reopening of the Sixteenth Street bombing investigation will challenge us to review our beliefs and motives. People from the past will face the reality that you cannot commit crimes and get away. Someone will talk and confess what they know. Law enforcement will do a better job of investigating the facts despite the pain and criticism that come from a community that is suspect. Eventually, justice will win. Martin Luther King Jr. was right: "When evil (people) plot, good (people) must plan. When evil (people) burn and bomb, good (people) must build and bind. When evil (people) shout ugly words of hatred, good (people) must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil (people) would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good (people) must seek to bring into being a real order of justice." Again, the world is watching Birmingham. We have an opportunity to transform the midnight of a horrible incident into a new day dawning. Sixteenth Street cannot approach this new day with bitterness and malice. We invite people to come and see the place, then leave and make a difference. In doing this, the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley were not taken in vain. Sarah Collins Cox and 21 other who sustained injuries did not suffer needlessly. The substantial damage to a historic structure did not end the
ministry here. Birmingham became a better place for all citizens to
live, work and play. The reopening of the investigation into the bombing
of our church signals a stronger Birmingham greeting the new day, filled
with God's reconciling love guiding us onward. CNN - FBI reopens probe into 1963 church bombing FBI reveals new probe of '63 church bombing New FBI Probe Raises Hopes Of Church Bomb Families THE
WHITE HOUSE history
| recent events | journey
to peace |
tribute | lesson plans |
links |
forums
|
