On this day in 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was bombed

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FILE - Graveside services are held, Sept. 18, 1963, for Carol Robertson, a victim of a bomb blast at an African American church days prior, in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four girls. Lisa McNair, the sister of one of the victims, said as the anniversary is remembered, she hoped people will think about what they can do to combat hate. (AP Photo, File)
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Today marks 60 years since September 15, 1963, when 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was targeted in a heinous act of racial violence. On that day, four Black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair, lost their lives in a devastating bombing. 

The girls were attending Sunday school in the church’s basement when the bomb exploded. Fourteen others were also injured in the blast. 

Originally, no one was arrested for the crime. However, after the investigation was reopened in 2000, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry surrendered, were indicted, and sentenced to life in prison. They both died behind bars. 

While no one was arrested for the crime immediately, the investigation was reopened in 2000. Members of the Ku Klux Klan, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry, surrendered, were indicted, and sentenced to life in prison. They both died behind bars.

FILE – Firefighters and ambulance attendants remove a covered body from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 15, 1963, after a deadly explosion detonated by members of the Ku Klux Klan during services. Alabama on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, will mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing that killed four girls. Lisa McNair, the sister of one of the victims, said as the anniversary is remembered, she hoped people will think about what they can do to combat hate. (AP Photo, File)
Church sign on building as guest arrive to attend the 60th Commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, will give the keynote address at the remembrance (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Guest line up to attend the 60th Commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. . U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, will give the keynote address at the remembrance. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Rev. Arthur Price Jr. speaks at the pulpit of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, during a service marking the 59th anniversary of the bombing that killed four Black girls at the church in 1963. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane

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