The Birmingham Church Bombing (September 15, 1963)

(The memorial at the 16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL)

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963. The bombing was committed by the white supremacist terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Four members of a local KKK chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.

Described by Martin Luther King Jr. as "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity," the explosion at the church killed four girls and injured between 14 and 22 other people.

The story was revisited in an excellent 1997 movie by Spike Lee, 4 Little Girls:
[media=https://youtu.be/gb6aeJy_o58]

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ChipmunkErnie · 70-79, M

My teen years were filled with depressing news, and some good news. It seemed that things might be changing, but now we seem to have backslid into hatred again. :(

bijouxbroussard · F

@ChipmunkErnie Yes. That concerns me as well. You know I loved my mother, but I’m kinda glad she’s not seeing this. When we got the news about the bombing so many years ago, I remember my mother just held me so tight. 😔

ChipmunkErnie · 70-79, M

@bijouxbroussard I had felt we were actually moving ahead, getting more accepting and less prejudiced, but now it's almost the opposite. And not just the bigotry of the MAGA set, but the so-called liberals side of things has gotten more and more intolerant, too -- agree with them or else.

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ChipmunkErnie · 70-79, M

@bijouxbroussard I'm not referring to extremes like that, more that everyone on both sides seems to be ready to "cancel" anyone who disagrees with them in the least. An example would be the current attacks on ANYONE whose name shows up in the Epstein files, even people who never met Epstein and had nothing to do with his crimes -- but so many people are ready to immediately attack anyone named, innocent or not.