Other editions of book Birmingham, 1963

In Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963, it is one little girl's 10th birthday. Excited about Youth Day at the 16th Street Baptist Church, she puts on her patent leather shoes and practices her choir solo. But her birthday will include no cake and no candles this year. A group of men have tucked a bundle of dynamite under the church's steps, and when it goes off, four girls are dead: AddieMae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair. Smoke clogs the throats of worshippers as they search for sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers in the crumbled plaster and broken glass. Author Carole Boston Weatherford, an award-winning poet and children's author, shares this story in poignant free verse poetry from the viewpoint of a fictional child eyewitness. Listeners will be transported back to this dark period in American history by Lizzie Cooper Davis' moving narration. "These children - unoffending; innocent and beautiful - were the victims of one of the most vicious, heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity...in spite of the darkness of this hour we must not despair. We must not become bitter...." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., eulogy for victims of the 16th Street Church bombing "To all who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. The struggle continues." - Author's dedication

A poetic tribute to the victims of the racially motivated church bombing that served as a seminal event in the struggle for civil rights. In 1963, the eyes of the world were on Birmingham, Alabama, a flashpoint for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan planted sticks of dynamite at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which served as a meeting place for civil rights organizers. The explosion killed four little girls. Their murders shocked the nation and turned the tide in the struggle for equality. A Jane Addams Children's Honor Book, here is a book that captures the heartbreak of that day, as seen through the eyes of a fictional witness. Archival photographs with poignant text written in free verse offer a powerful tribute to the young victims.