16th St. Baptist Church Bombing of 1963

By HudsonCa

  • Bombs detonate on East side of Church

    Bombs detonate on East side of Church
    10:22 a.m Sept. 15, 1963 Birmingham, Ala. The bombs detonate on the East side of the Church, spraying mortar and bricks all through out the Church killing 4 African American girls, 14 year old's Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Corole Robertson, and 11 year old Denise McNair. The Church starts collapsing shortly after the explosion.

  • Thousands of protesters gather at scene

    Thousands of protesters gather at scene
    Protests start at the scene of the bombing and Governor Wallace tries to break up protests with police and state troopers. In effect violence breaks throughout the city.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at three of the girls funerals

    Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at three of the girls funerals
    King spoke at three of the girls funerals in front of 8000+ people, fueling rage across the city causing riots and protests.

  • FBI had info on suspects but did nothing

    FBI had info on suspects but did nothing
    The FBI had information on the perpetrators but did nothing because the head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, disapproved of the civil rights movement.

  • Bob Baxley reopened the investigation

    Bob Baxley reopened the investigation
    Bob Baxley brought Klan leader, Robert E. Chambliss, to trial for convicted murder.

  • Chambliss died in prison

    Chambliss died in prison
    KKK leader, Robert E. Chambliss, died in prison after being convicted of murder.

  • 3 other perpetrators either caught or died

    3 other perpetrators either caught or died
    Then two other former Klan members, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry, were finally brought to trial, Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002. The fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in a car crash in 1994 before he could be brought to trial.