Because there wasn’t the 24-hour a day news cycle in 1963 with its constant “breaking news,” the announcer broke into the regular Sunday programming that afternoon to announce that the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham had been bombed. The news that night confirmed that four little girls had died in the blast.
There was a fifth child named Sarah Collins who was severely wounded. She lost an eye and still has pieces of glass inside her body. She still has medical expenses from the bombing. Yesterday on the 59th anniversary Sarah Collins Rudolph was at the White House Summit on ending hate fueled violence.
But in Alabama, apart from a mealy mouthed apology by Governor Ivey, little has changed. Sarah has not received assistance from the State of Alabama for her care. Ivey said any funds would have to come through the Legislature but neither she nor anyone else has introduced such a bill. So, what has changed? Not much.
Prayer for the Day
Listener to our words, Hearer of our hearts,
Keep us from looking for easy answers;
Perceiver of our minds, Seerer of our souls,
Mold our desires to reflect your mercy rather than our fears
Engage us into conversation with the One,
Who calls us to reflect your righteousness.
In the name of the One who calls us to do justice,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I know I speak on behalf of all Americans in expressing a deep sense of outrage and grief over the killing of the children yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama. It is regrettable that public disparagement of law and order has encouraged violence which has fallen on the innocent.
- John F. Kennedy, September 16, 1963
Today we remember Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, who were killed 50 years ago in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. That horrific day in Birmingham, Alabama, quickly became a defining moment for the civil rights movement.
- Barack Obama, September 15, 2013
See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save, nor God’s ear to dull to hear.
Rather your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God
Isaiah 59:1-2