Baptist Church Bombing: A Tragedy
One event in March book three, pages 1-61, that stood out to me the most was the 16th street church bombing. This event was tragic and heartbreaking. Since the church was a meeting place for civil rights activist groups, it was unfortunately targeted. This makes the event even more disheartening. The news coverage it seemed to get at the time is also somewhat unsettling.
In the book, the news report said that the church bombing was breaking news and that no causalities had been reported at the time. However, as we know, there were four causalities and many injuries. Today, any causalities or injuries would be known almost instantly and would get worldwide attention for weeks. If you look up the bombing today, there are countless reports and pictures and videos about the four girls that unfortunately lost their lives. They are honored and respected and even still mourned. Where was that national coverage for them in the 60s?
I personally think that no matter where the activists decided to meet, the same thing would have happened. Their actions were pure and honest, and they were only working for the human good. They could not have changed their actions or choices in order to have a different outcome. As unfortunate as that sounds, I honestly believe it was true. Sadly, people filled with hate will carry out actions of hate no matter what.
The people that witnessed this bombing had a choice as to what to do with the information they knew. After the bombing, there were four suspects, but due to witnesses being too reluctant to talk, they weren’t convicted until many years later. If I could put myself in the shoes of one of the witnesses, I would tell the truth about what I saw and work my hardest to get justice.
I agree with you that the bombing at the Baptist Church was very disheartening and just one of the many horrendous events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement. It is crazy to me that people were so blinded by their racism that they could even think of doing something as awful as bombing a church. Many of the anti-Civil Rights Movement people claimed to be Christians, yet took the innocent lives of people who were fighting for their rights and following their faith.
Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the fact that the casualties were not projected in the news after the bombing. I am sure that the people who did the attack knew of their wrongdoings and wanted to cover up their evil. They wanted the colored Americans to be seen as the evil ones rather than show the world that the only violent ones are truly the ones who were for segregation.
I also feel that the location of where the meeting was held did not have an impact on the attack. The violent white-supremacists would have found a way to create violence no matter where the peaceful meeting was held. It really does sadden my heart with how long it took the 4 girls to receive the justice they deserved. One would think that any person with human decency would come forward about what they saw and place blame on those who were guilty; yet, people pretended they had not witnessed the deaths or knew who was to blame. An attack like this should never have occurred and I wish those who were hurt or killed would have received their justice much sooner.
While I was reading the first bit of March Book Three, I would have to agree that this was the event that stood out to me the most. It is truly saddening how people can be so cruel and live with the evil decision they make. Words cannot describe how cruel of an event this was. The book up to this point had a fair amount of scenes or instances that were hard to read, but the start of this chapter was something else. I feel like as we go on through the Third Book of March, the scenes are only going to get more tragic.
I like the way you talk about how little attention this was getting at the time, and I agree that it got nowhere near the amount of attention it deserved. Obviously, the main reason was that a lot of people were against what activists were doing at the time, but I feel like another reason why this didn’t get the attention it deserved was that people were scared to talk about it or even show signs of siding with the people who unfortunately lost their lives or were severely injured. People didn’t want something similar happening to them.
It is also sad to think that this attack was probably planned for wherever they went, and as you said, they probably were not safe anywhere. I too believe that if I were in the place of the witness, I would have spoken out about what happened to get justice. The only problem standing in the way is fear though. There is always going to be that thought in the back of the witness’s head saying, “what if the same thing happens to me for snitching”. I think you highlighted all the same thoughts I had for this party in the book. Hopefully, the next blog post I have to do isn’t about something as tragic as this.
I completely agree , the tragedy of the 16th Street Bombing stood out to me also. This heinous act was completely unsettling, to say the least. The pain of the crimes committed have left a permanent scar , on the members of the black community , for the past several decades.
I do not think any place would have been a target, I feel as if the location was somewhere like a police station , with protection for the individuals at risk, the outcome would have been very different. The victims were unprotected by their community , these people were left defenseless , before the crime , during the crime , and even after their untimely death.
I completely agree, these victims were not properly represented through any of the media coverage. They were not given the opportunity to voice , while they were alive , and even in death their voices were not recognized or heard. I think the reason they were not given the attention , is they were innocent children. They were innocent black children , who were never given the opportunity to live and make the mistakes that were often used against minority individuals. This is an example of the media not having the material to flip the script , and make the victim out to be a bad person , like in the 2020 George Floyd murder. I feel as if this situation were to have happed to four white children , the media would have hunted down every black person within the towns limits , and somehow connected them to the murders. These four children did not deserve to forgotten , they did not deserve to be silenced in death.
I respect the fact you would be honest in a situation like this. It is remarkable how today, we see the wrongs in hate, and understand , silence can promote hate in many different ways. If we continue to be quiet about the hate crimes , the hate crimes spread.
I agree that the bombing event was heartbreaking, a young girl looking for her friend right after an explosion only to find out she was dead is just tragic. A spot for civil rights meetings and discussions for solutions of peace and equality for all being a target for violence and hatred. Not only is it terrible to learn about four young girls being killed in a bombing, but to continue the reading and learn that a thirteen year old was murdered as well as a sixteen year old all for basically no reason but hatred. It still surprises me that through everything we’re taught during our time in school, all the atrocities throughout history this event is so close to our time Its hard to believe that someone would be capable of bombing a church. Especially on youth day. I agree with you on no matter where they would have chosen to meet, sadly the same result most likely would’ve occurred. John Lewis, Dr. King, and everyone involved in the equality and peace movement are all extremely inspiring, retaliating violence with peace and persistence in their own goals is admirable. The Freedom Day protest, where everyone participating was not allowed to leave the line no matter what or they would not be able to get back in line. No water. No food for hours while standing basically still in line while under the violent watch of the police. Fannie Lou Hamer tried only to register to vote, however when people heard about it she was fired, arrested, and beaten. She then joined the SNCC and became an extremely devoted and focused member. Lou simply tried to register to vote like everyone should have the right to, but was punished severely for her peaceful actions. I believe we have come a long way since the times we are reading about, but still have far to go until we can truly reach the objective of peace and equality for everyone.
I found it really interesting how you said that today’s casualties are known instantly and heavily talked about verses in the 60s when there was breaking news of the situation but not a casualty report. As an avid true crime watcher, I think it is important to note that it takes a lot longer to report casualties than breaking news as it typically takes a while to have crime scene investigators and forensics on scene to account for the casualties. I would also like to note that the government and military even ensures late reports in today’s world. Just recently a report of a military jet going down and a death count of four was released to the media however it wasn’t till several hours later that they announced who was on the flight. One of my very close friends spent hours that day wondering whether or not her brother was one of the soldiers on that flight; thankfully he was not. It just goes to show that it is not always about media coverage but about what the media is told and what takes time to uncover.
I do agree that with you when it comes to thinking that no matter where the activists decided to meet that day the same thing would have happened. Racial activism was and unfortunately still is a heavy topic and they’re still are many individuals who believe racial inequality as being just. As for the bombing, that typically comes from a lot of anger and hate. At the end of the day, the bomber wanted them to die and they were going to do everything in their power to make that happen. The bomber targeted them as a specific group of people they wanted to suffer. At the end of the day, the bomber just wanted them to die and they were willing to do anything to insure that would happen.