The Fifth Girl

Survivor of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four girls speaks at annual NAACP event

October 10, 2016 at 4:41 a.m. | Updated October 11, 2016 at 9:19 p.m.

by Jerry Habraken

Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls during the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Ala., speaks Saturday during the 79th annual Texas State NAACP Texas Heroes Banquet at the Texarkana, Texas, Convention Center. The children were inside the church preparing for worship when the bomb went off. Rudolph's 14-year-old sister, Addie Mae Collins, and three other girls: Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; and Cynthia Morris, also known as Cynthia Wesley, died instantly. Rudolph was seriously injured. "We were at that church learning about love and forgiveness when someone was outside doing hateful things," she said in an Associated Press interview. The bombing, which injured 22 people, marked a turning point in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and contributed to support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls during the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Ala., speaks Saturday during the 79th annual Texas State NAACP Texas Heroes Banquet at the Texarkana, Texas, Convention Center. The children were inside the church preparing for worship when the bomb went off. Rudolph's 14-year-old sister, Addie Mae Collins, and three other girls: Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; and Cynthia Morris, also known as Cynthia Wesley, died instantly. Rudolph was seriously injured. "We were at that church learning about love and forgiveness when someone was outside doing hateful things," she said in an Associated Press interview. The bombing, which injured 22 people, marked a turning point in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and contributed to support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Upcoming Events