09/15/2026
Sixty-three years ago, on September 15, 1963, a bomb planted by white supremacists exploded at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, taking the lives of “four little girls”: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley.
They were children. They were in church.
Their lives were stolen by racial hatred, but their names and their humanity must never be forgotten.
Today, The King Center remembers Addie Mae, Denise, Carole, and Cynthia, and the lives changed by this horrific act of violence. We also remember that the bombing did not occur in isolation. It emerged from a culture in which racism was cultivated, segregation was defended, and violence was used to resist the demand for justice and human dignity.
In his eulogy for Addie Mae, Denise, and Cynthia (Carole was remembered in a separate service), Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the bombing “one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”
Sixty-three years later, remembrance must be more than reflection. It must strengthen our resolve to confront racism, resist hate, reject dehumanization, and build the Beloved Community through nonviolence.
We remember the four girls.
We remember what hate can destroy.
And we recommit ourselves to creating a world where love is organized, justice is pursued, and every child can live free from the violence of racism.
