THE AFTERMATH
By Booker
We all know the story of the four grade-school girls that were killed by the bomb set off by the Ku Klux Klan, but many don't know the end of the story. After the bombing, thousands of angry black protesters marched. Eventually, though, they were stopped by Governor George Wallace and the state police. Violence broke out through the city and two African American men were killed by a policeman. Henceforth, there was a funeral for three victims of the bombing, Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley, at the nearby 16th Street Baptist Church. But Carole Robertson, the fourth victim had a separate funeral.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered an uplifting eulogy about the Civil Rights movement at the funeral at the 16th Avenue Baptist Church, commemorating all four of the girls. In the eulogy, he propelled people to action, citing this incident of white people killing innocent black school children just because of their race as one example in a long chain of events. In doing so, he made people realize how urgent the Civil Rights movement was, and how much worse the violence could be if people didn't work together. At the funeral, there were clusters on the streets singing freedom songs, and people heard the funeral through large speakers (Gan, 2013).
Many white people were suspected of the bombing, but none of them were found completely guilty. In 1977, the case was reopened and Klan leader Robert E. Chambliss was brought to trial and convicted. The trial was brought back in 1980, 1988, and 1997 when KKK members Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry were brought to court and were also convicted in 2001 and 2002, but the fourth member could not go to trial because he died in 1994 ("Birmingham Church Bombing," 2010).
Visiting the 16th Street Baptist Church for a service was a highlight because it showed how important this place was in motivating the people during the Civil Rights movement. The 16th Street Baptist Church played a vital role in the outcome of the Civil Rights movement.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered an uplifting eulogy about the Civil Rights movement at the funeral at the 16th Avenue Baptist Church, commemorating all four of the girls. In the eulogy, he propelled people to action, citing this incident of white people killing innocent black school children just because of their race as one example in a long chain of events. In doing so, he made people realize how urgent the Civil Rights movement was, and how much worse the violence could be if people didn't work together. At the funeral, there were clusters on the streets singing freedom songs, and people heard the funeral through large speakers (Gan, 2013).
Many white people were suspected of the bombing, but none of them were found completely guilty. In 1977, the case was reopened and Klan leader Robert E. Chambliss was brought to trial and convicted. The trial was brought back in 1980, 1988, and 1997 when KKK members Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry were brought to court and were also convicted in 2001 and 2002, but the fourth member could not go to trial because he died in 1994 ("Birmingham Church Bombing," 2010).
Visiting the 16th Street Baptist Church for a service was a highlight because it showed how important this place was in motivating the people during the Civil Rights movement. The 16th Street Baptist Church played a vital role in the outcome of the Civil Rights movement.