Current:Home > Invest60 years later, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing survivor seeks restitution-InfoLens
60 years later, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing survivor seeks restitution
View Date:2024-12-24 00:16:51
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed 60 years ago by the Ku Klux Klan, killing four Black girls: Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins and Carole Robertson.
It also left lasting scars on survivors like Sarah Collins Rudolph, Addie Mae Collins' sister, who became known as "The 5th Little Girl."
"I just miss her being with her," Rudolph said about her sister. "We would laugh and have a lot of fun together."
A photograph taken days after the attack shows Rudolph bandaged in a hospital bed, having lost an eye. Six decades later, she has not received any compensation for her injuries despite struggling from them for decades.
"I would think that the Alabama state would compensate me for what I went through with but they haven't given me anything for my injury," she said. "I figured they owe me restitution when people were promoting hate at that time."
In 2020, Gov. Kay Ivey issued an apology for the racist and segregationist rhetoric used by some leaders at the time. Ivey's office told Rudolph's lawyer that the state legislature would be the correct body to appeal for restitution. But attempts to advance her claim there quickly faltered.
CBS News reached out to the governor's office for comment on Rudolph's denied claims but received no response.
Rudolph and her sister lived in Birmingham, one of the most segregated and racially violent American cities at the time. Gov. George Wallace's infamous vow of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" exemplified the hostility toward Black residents.
Rudolph said when the girls arrived at the church that morning, they were having a good time and went to the basement to freshen up — moments before the bomb exploded.
"'Boom.' And all I could do was say, 'Jesus, Addie, Addie, Addie.' But she didn't answer," said Rudolph.
"Those girls didn't get a chance to live their life. But they was killed just because they was Black," she said.
The dynamite planted by KKK members not only killed the four girls and wounded dozens of others but also left a crater in the church's basement.
Today, the 16th Street Baptist Church continues to welcome tens of thousands of visitors each year. Pastor Arthur Price Jr., who now leads the church, said the tragedy became an agent of change.
"We are being agents of change, which we believe the four little girls were because of what happened to them. It helped change, the world," he said.
veryGood! (467)
Related
- Stop What You're Doing—Moo Deng Just Dropped Her First Single
- Downtown Atlanta water service disrupted, forcing business closings, water boil notice
- Three Maryland family members fatally shot, another wounded, suspect takes own life, police say
- Horoscopes Today, May 31, 2024
- The Fate of Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager's Today Fourth Hour Revealed
- Biden allows limited Ukrainian strikes inside Russia using U.S.-provided weapons
- When will Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight? What we know after bout is postponed
- Video shows anti-Islam activist among those stabbed in Germany knife attack
- Climate Advocacy Groups Say They’re Ready for Trump 2.0
- Bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine in India plunges down 150-foot gorge, killing 22 people
Ranking
- Rafael dissolves into a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting Cuba as a hurricane
- Untangling the Story Behind Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
- Don’t throw out that old iPhone! Here’s where you can exchange used tech for dollars
- Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes Prove They're the Ones to Beat at White House Celebration With Chiefs
- Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
- Untangling the Story Behind Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
- Former General Hospital star Johnny Wactor shot and killed in downtown LA, family says
- 34 in police custody after pro-Palestinian protest at Brooklyn Museum, damage to artwork reported
Recommendation
-
Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
-
Marlie Giles' home run helps Alabama eliminate Duke at Women's College World Series
-
2 killed, 3 injured when stolen SUV crashes during pursuit in Vermont
-
Three Maryland family members fatally shot, another wounded, suspect takes own life, police say
-
Sofia Richie Reveals 5-Month-Old Daughter Eloise Has a Real Phone
-
4 years after George Floyd's death, has corporate America kept promises to Black America?
-
Whoopi Goldberg makes rare Friday appearance on 'The View' for Donald Trump guilty verdict
-
World War II veterans take off for France for 80th anniversary of D-Day