...Outline summary 9/30/13 The Bombing of the 16th Street Baptiste Church General Purpose: To inform my audience about the bombing of the 16th street Baptiste church. Specific Purpose: The tragedy of the bombing of the church, and how it helped change history. Thesis Statement: The bombing of the 16th street Baptiste church was one of America’s most horrific tragedies. Introduction “Auntie can I borrow your compact, brush, and a quarter?” Those were the last words of a little girl 12 years old who died in the bombing of the 16th street Baptiste Church. She was one of four little girls who died that day, Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson. They lost their lives because of hatred and an unwillingness to change. The events that happened on September 15, 1963 would be remembered in US history forever. I have heard of this event my whole life. My mother has vivid memories of visiting this very same church as a child while on summer break visiting relatives in Birmingham. I will take you a journey of the history of this historic landmark, the tragic events of this day, and the aftermath of that day in civil rights. Transition: I want to begin by giving you a look at the start of this church. Body I. Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was the first African American church to be organized in Birmingham. A. According to the church’s official website, the church was formed in 1873 on 16th and 6th st in Birmingham Alabama...
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...Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing The Civil Rights Movement contained hundreds of events that affected the lives of millions of blacks and whites. Many people know about the “March on Washington” or MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Some critical events during this time period were not so peaceful or uplifting though. Lots of events included deaths, explosions, bombs, or just plain sadness and tragedy. The events, causes, and results of the Sixteenth Street church bombing, which occurred in the 1960’s, were an important part of the Civil Rights Movement in America. The Birmingham church bombing was a major event in the Civil Rights Movement. On Sunday, September 15th, 1963 a bombing occurred at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the seventh bombing in Birmingham within six months! About 200 members of the church were in the building on this horrific day (History.com 2). Most were going to Sunday school or preparing for the 11am service. Four girls, wearing white, were preparing for their church’s annual youth-day worship service. They were getting ready in a bathroom underneath a staircase. A Caucasian man had been seen getting out of a turquoise Chevrolet and placing a box somewhere around the church earlier this day. At around 10:22 am, a box of fifteen dynamite sticks with a timer hooked to them exploded at the church (Hampton and Fayer 171). The detonation of the bomb happened on the east side of the church, under the...
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...With Occupy Wall Street gaining headway and the country seeing greater inequality than ever, anarchists and socialists protested in the streets of Lower Manhattan’s “Corner” in a rage at the banking systems. Before the turn of the century, the feelings projected toward the financial barons of New York were all but tranquil. Because the majority of the wealth among a few happened at the expense of laborers and echoed with Americans, its result lead to terrorism (King 2011). On September 16, 1920, an explosion tore through the streets of Lower Manhattan’s “Corner”. The Wall Street Bombing of 1920 was the deadliest terror attack on American soil until the Oklahoma bombing 75 years later. The blast killed 38 people and injured hundreds of others (Andrews, 2015). Although the case remains unsolved to this day, there were many suspects. Investigators believe their strongest lead was the Italian anarchists of the time. On Thursday September 16, 1920, an unknown driver pulled a horse drawn wagon filled with one hundred pounds of dynamite and sash weights up to the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in Lower Manhattan, an area often called “The Corner”. “The Corner” was described by author John Brooks as “the precise center, geographical as well as metaphorical, of financial America and even of the financial world.” The building on “The Corner”, housed the most powerful financial institution in the world, J.P. Morgan Co., as well as professionals like J.P. Morgan Jr. and Thomas Lamont...
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...book didn’t mention really anything about whites the author really based the book off of a black family. On the contrary another historical event is that in Birmingham the population of the blacks was 135,113 people and for the whites it was 205,620 people. Having there be more whites in Birmingham then blacks it was easier for the whites to get what they wanted. In contrast the book didn’t talk about the population of the blacks and whites, or how the whites can do whatever they wanted to the blacks. In fact the book didn't really mention anything about how the blacks would get treated or anything about whites in general. A third historical event that happened in Birmingham was that there was a bombing at the 16th Baptist church on September 15, 1963. The bombers were two white men bombing a church for blacks. In addition the book did talk about how this really happened. Yet the author didn’t go into full detail about what happened. The last historical event was that there was four...
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...The Birmingham church bombing of 1963 had lasting impacts on society. From the bombing came a greater awareness of the fact that African Americans were indeed people too, and that all human beings deserve to live the best life possible. Because of those four young girls who were killed in the bombing, we stopped ignoring how bad the prejudice and hate against African Americans was, and we took action to stop it. New laws were created that helped give African Americans equal opportunities, so that they could have happy lives. Text 1, Vigilance and Victory: How the Birmingham Church Bombing Revealed America’s Ugly Truths, talks about how the bombing broke the barrier we put up against African Americans, and we started actually thinking about them like they were people. Paragraph 5 says, “The images that circulated right after the Birmingham church bombing not only put the hypocrisy of American liberty into the spotlight, it also humanized African Americans.” Finally, we started treating African Americans like human beings, instead of simply pretending they were just there, and that they didn’t matter....
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...More types of demonstrations, both violent and non- violent were being held across the country. Unfortunately, these strides did not result in peace, as cities like Birmingham, Alabama were stifled with fear and loathing because of tense race relations. Groups and people like Lewis attempted to combat the inequality and intolerance of places that felt segregation the most. In Birmingham community members would gather in churches, most famously the 16th Street Baptist Church, to discuss solutions and civil right activities. These gatherings became the target of Ku Klux Klan members. Soon Klan members would bomb the 16th Street Baptist Church on youth day in September of 1963. A total of 21 children were injured and 4 were killed, an incident that sparked fear. Citizens wondered “how much more? What else? What's next?” (p. 234). Lewis finds that the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church “was a particularly painful experience for all of us in the movement. It was a big blow to the hope and the faith of many” (p.235). African Americans, in general, were starting to wonder just how much more they could withstand and realized they needed to do something drastic. There was talk of seizing the State Capital, but eventually they settled for courthouse...
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...15, 1963, a white man was seen getting out of a white and turquoise Chevy and placing a box under the steps of the church (Ku Klux Klan Spartacus). At 10:22 am the bomb detonated, exploding on the east side of the building, where five girls were getting ready for church in a basement restroom. The explosion sprayed mortar and bricks from the building, caved in walls, and filled the inside with smoke. Beneath the debris in the church basement, the dead bodies of Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Denise McNair (11) were discovered. A fifth girl who was with them, Sarah Collins (younger sister of Addie Mae Collins), lost her right eye in the explosion, and several other people were injured (16th Street Baptist Church bombing). A witness identified Robert Chambliss, a member of the KKK, as the man who placed the bomb under the steps of the Church. He was arrested and charged with murder and possessing a box of 122 sticks of dynamite without a permit. On October 8, 1963, Chambliss was found not guilty of murder and received a hundred-dollar fine and six months in jail for having 122 sticks of dynamite without a permit (Ku Klux Klan...
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...When the civil rights act came to the table only 22% of all democrats voted against it and only 12% of all republicans voted against it. The civil rights movement started in 1954 and lasted 12 more years all the way until 1968. The most important civil rights activists consisted of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks(started the civil rights movement), and so on. There were many courageous men and women all over America who took a stand during the civil rights movement. The Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream speech, on the steps of the Lincon memorial, in Washington D.C. was one of the greatests speeches to be recorded. In the article titled MLK, I Have a Dream Speech, it states,”The 1960’s was defining decade in America, and...
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...segregation in school, streets, neighborhoods, and even in bathrooms and water fountains. These were thought to be separate but equal. However, in the schools, the whites had modern and new supplies. The Negroes had to deal with the old and did not have enough supplies. In the Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ended slavery. Some whites got angry with letting Negroes in their schools that even teachers would treat them badly, and even students wouldn’t talk to them. Some white students and parents threatened to kill these students. In the novel “WGTB-1963” the Watsons don’t face the wrath of racist whites until the bombing of the 16th Baptist Church. Around Chapter 14, Kenny describes the explosion very loud and that everyone in Birmingham stops and wonders of the explosion (pg 182). In fiction, Kenny’s young sister, Joetta Watson (Joey) is in the church during the explosion. Then once the Watsons are informed of the bombing, they are all scared of what might have happened to Joey. “I’d never heard heard Momma’s voice sound so bad (she screamed).... [Byron] got the pants up and said, ‘A guy just came by and said somebody dropped a bomb on Joey’s church.’” (Page 183). Although this story is fiction, some parents of those whose children died in the bombing had that same hope to see their daughter alive. This impacted the Watsons because it showed them the dangers and hatred that whites had towards them Negroes. After the bombing, from Chapter 14 through...
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...What is Terrorism? – Defining Terrorism Defining terrorism is not an easy task. As the lesson explains, there are many individual definitions to the term terrorist or terrorism. Phillip Cryan (2001) determined in his research that the word terrorism has increased in popularity since the World Trade Center attacks. He also states that other foreign countries are depending on the United States to fight their battles by labelling their attackers as “terrorist”. This is something that I felt to be very interesting. Upon using the class reference and several articles and journals found online, I have found various complexities in defining the act and very word of “terrorism”. I initially researched the purpose of terrorism. In order to understand what terrorism is, you must also look at why it is done. The legal definition used in the “Defining Terrorism” article by Phillip Cryan says that goals of the act of terrorism is simply “seeking international consensus” (Cryan, 2001). This means that in order to be considered a terrorist or to commit a terrorist act, you have to have a global audience. The terrorist group has to have some kind of global appeal in order to commit an act in the first place. There has to be an issue at hand or a cause that a mass of people can be sympathetic to or enraged by. Either way it accomplishes the goal of attention for the act of terrorism. The Department of Defense’s definition is “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence...
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...Berlin Welcome Card' Berlin Bus Tours / Walking Tours / Boat Tours German State Opera House / Berlin Philharmonic Hall Alexanderplatz Brandenburg Gate, 'Story of Berlin' Exhibition Potsdamer Platz Television Tower (Fernsehturm) Schloss Charlottenburg Berlin Cathedral Pergamon Museum Old Museum Bode Museum National Gallery Church of Sophie Cemetery for the Parishes of Dorotheenstadt andFriedrichswerder Potsdamer Platz and the New Centre Unter den Linden Jewish Centre Oranienburger Strasse Spandau Citadel Checkpoint Charlie Museum (Military attraction or museum; Photo collection, exhibit) Brandenburg Gate,Berlin Commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II in the 1700s to represent peace, the Brandenburg Gate is nothing short of an iconic symbol of the city. Originally built as a customs post, the gate was an integral part of the Berlin Wall and remained locked for the duration of the Communist rule. When the wall that was once the boundary between East and West Berlin was knocked down, the gate became an important symbol of German reunification and it is the only one out of 18 such gates that now remains. Designed in 1791 by Carl Gotthard Langhans, a detailed sculpture of the beautiful goddess Victory resides at the top of the structure. When Napoleon occupied Berlin in 1806 he stole this statue and took it back to Paris, but it was returned to its rightful home again in 1814. When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 the tor became...
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...The Ku Klux Klan, which is often referred to and abbreviated as “KKK,” originated in the South during the 1860’s. It later died out in 1870, and was re-established in in the early 1900’s. “A new version of the Ku Klux Klan arose during the early 1920s. Throughout this time period, immigration, fear of radicalism, and a revolution in morals and manners fanned anxiety in large parts of the country. Roman Catholics, Jews, African Americans, and foreigners were only the most obvious targets of the Klan's fear mongering. Bootleggers and divorcees were also targets (Digital History).” At first the main objective of white supremacy organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, the White Brotherhood, the Men of Justice, the Constitutional Union Guards and the Knights of the White Camelia was to stop black people from voting. After white governments had been established in the South the Ku Klux Klan continued to undermine the power of blacks. Successful black businessmen were attacked and any attempt to form black protection groups such as trade unions was quickly dealt with. In 1920, two Atlanta publicists, Edward Clarke, a former Atlanta journalist, and Bessie Tyler, a former madam, took over an organization that had formed to promote World War I fund drives. At that time, the organization had 3,000 members. In three years they built it into the Southern Publicity Association, a national organization with three million members. With the growth of the organization, they were able to control...
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...Unfortunately for the KKK, it got separated again in the 1930’s with the great depression abound and didn’t regroup until after World War II. It wasn’t until the 1950’s, during the Civil Rights Movement where the KKK regrouped to retaliate the protest African-Americans were giving to the US government. When the government started beginning to lean in the African-Americans’ direction the KKK went full force with its beatings, murders, bombings, and shooting onto the activists, both white and black (Staff "Ku Klux...
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...White Supremacist Attacks on Churches One of the most famous remembered attacks on an African American Church was in Birmingham, Alabama. On that early 15th day of September in 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing took place. Ku Klux Klan members placed a bomb under the steps of this church with a timer on it for it to go off just before the Sunday service began. “Just before 11 o'clock, instead of rising to begin prayers the congregation was knocked to the ground. As a bomb exploded under the steps of the church, they sought safety under the pews and shielded each other from falling debris. In the basement, four little girls, 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley, were killed....
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...the storm. Agnes’s unpredictable path led to traumatic transformations of the East Coast. Due to their lack of flood prevention preparations, the citizens on the Eastern seaboard struggled from the structural devastation for a long period of time, especially in Pennsylvania. The flood of 1972 severely impacted Northeastern Pennsylvania causing excessive physical destruction to homes and businesses. Hurricane Agnes was categorized as one of the worst storms in the history of the United States. Agnes began developing as a tropical storm in June of 1972. Agnes was detected on June 14th in the Yucatan Peninsula, which is located in Southern Mexico in between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Agnes was officially named on June 16th and was declared a hurricane after reaching winds of 75 miles per hour just two days later. Soon after Agnes was declared a hurricane, she became a tropical depression (Barnes-Svarney, Patricia). Agnes traveled through a total of twelve states within a twelve day time period. By June 19th, Agnes reached Florida near Cape San Blas, and continued to travel up the East Coast. Agnes turned back into a hurricane on June 20th after reaching...
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