179 Comments
founding

I was a child when the news of this atrocity broke. I remember crying and my mother trying to sooth me -- I had no idea what was going on, just that four children died. I am furious about it, 60 years later.... I do not believe in God, but I hope I am wrong so that the bombers may rot in hell for eternity.

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Thank you for remembering this tragic event and using it to remind us all that we still live in a society and a country that makes room for and tolerates hatred and racial bias. Until we no longer tolerate or make room for bias, hatred, and rage we will continue to be an imperfect nation impoverished by racial and ethnic intolerance. We are capable of being so much more but fall so short of our potential.

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I was a junior in high school when this happened. We lived in the Florida panhandle, sometimes referred to as "Alabama with a beach." My family sometimes felt like an island surrounded by a sea of racism. The Civil Rights movement was a passion for us, and we revered Martin Luther King Jr. The following summer the Civil Rights Act was passed as we were driving on vacation up to the New York Worlds Fair. The news came over the radio and my brother and I in the back seat were literally jumping up and down with joy.

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Sep 15·edited Sep 15

We should remember that there was a fifth little girl in that church that day, and although severely injured, she survived. Unlike othere victims of racist and terroristic violence, she was never awarded reparations for the grievous harm she suffered. Perhaps this group can start a petition to remedy this injustice. Her name is Sarah Collins Rudolph.

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" We cannot give into hate and racism. We cannot let those dark days return." Yes, we are in this together. Thanks Joyce.

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Thank you! I remember this heartbreaking event. I was a child who moved to the south from the northwest. My brother had a black 1st grade teacher, who was much beloved. When I was placed in segregated schools, Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by marshals and girls killed in a church bathroom, there is nothing that could explain away the confusion and anxiety I felt. Thank you for remembering. Thank you Ketanji Brown Jackson for speaking. I was five. I remember Huntley and Brinkley and Walter Cronkite covering these stories. I am sorry that the killings continue but glad that these children are remembered.

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My father grew up in North Carolina and ran away and joined the Army because his family would not let him see his best friend, who was black. He taught us about the racism and hatred, about the separate fountains, etc. I was in the U. S. Navy in the 60s and was station in various places in the South and saw and felt what my father taught us firsthand. My partner and I went cross-country for 3 months in 1993 (30 years later and after the Civil Rights Act) and we experience the bigotry then, two lesbians, one being Jewish (me, mother's side) this was 1993 and it didn't occur to me to take off my Star of David and I just happened to be a soft-butch woman. We felt it, experienced it and saw it, and my partner (from Alaska) said it made her skin crawl, but she was also sad because she could not only feel the hate of some white folks, but she also felt the black people seems to disengage and retreat from us white women.

Yes, Joyce, justice was served but it should never, ever take this long or as long as our courts let things drag out especially for the rich and powerful. These four little girls only 'crime' to Southerners was the color of their skin. Those men intended to kill black folks that day and they didn't care that it was four little children and no one else care either or the cowards would have come forward and I know you know that there were plenty of white folks who knew who the murders were.

My father used to talk about the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains and the beauty of the South, but he only went back once in all his years in CA. I didn't meet most of my Southern relatives, by father use to say they weren't worth meeting. Sad yes, but my father, like many people today who leave family behind because they are Trump loving, left behind not just his family, but hate and I have been thankful for his lessons as a child all my life.

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Every year, we are determined not to forget the terrorism that was brought to our country at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania on 9/11. In my view, a more insidious terrorism exists to this day within our own borders. Americans killing other Americans because of race, religion, gender identity or political persuasion continues to stain our very existence. We must face this squarely and resolve that, in the United States of America, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are for all our citizens.

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There is some relief to see these men finally convicted. Sadly, justice will never come for the many more thousands of victims of racism, lynching and slavery in the nation's history. The only atonement we can offer is to eradicate the ignorant bigotry that motivates such violence.

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Beautifully detailed account of the horrific events that took the lives of four beautiful young ladies. “Justice delayed but not denied”, is an important reminder to not give up hope. Thanks Joyce.

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And thank you to Doug Jones//a hero for sure.

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Sep 15·edited Sep 15

Thank you, Joyce. My granddaughter and her class visited the church today (14th) to learn about the event, and before the pandemic. I was privileged to hear Doug Jones and others speak at Temple Beth-El Birmingham about their efforts It was awful to read in the newspaper today that the 4th little girl, who survived,, has received nothing like the kinds of reparations that other victims of terrorists have been given. I'm going to take a wild guess that racism has something to do with that.

Today I stood on the steps of Temple Beth El with others as the shofar was sounded 6 times; 4 for the little girls, 2 for the boys. Church bells sounding faintly in the background. A very moving experience, especially since I am old enough to remember the bombing when it happened.

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founding

Thank you for the reminder. Things have changed, but there is still long way to go. A very long way.

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I was 10 and I don’t remember but only the assassination of JFK a few months later. But I will stand silent at 10:22 AM in remembrance of these sweet little girls. They were deprived of a long life.

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Joyce, I remember hearing about the bombing on the evening news with my family. We had one TV and probably saw the devastating news on the national news with Walter Cronkite or Chet Huntley & David Brinkley. It is imperative that we do not forget and we must educate the younger generations. What an amazing time with Justice speaking at the Church on Friday.

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In 1960 my middle daughter had been born 4 months before. I remember well my horror and disgust. I am still glad I chose to become American, but I have never been able to understand or accept more than 500 years of bigotry and racism.

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